Heaven Sent
by gruesome-daath
Summary: OOC, AU. Asuka is from heaven, Rei is from hell and Shinji is in between. Ch 9 Update: Hope begins to fade as one of the children fall. Hell knoweth no wrath like a woman scorned.
1. Prologue

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**Heaven Sent**

_By crimsonwraith_

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_Prologue: __Shadow__Falls_

The heavens burned in flashes of lightning, streaking across the darkness, tearing a swath through the darkness like a blade through flesh, revealing in brief flashes the pandemonium on earth below. Sheets of rain pelted the rock face where two silhouettes danced, half hidden by the night. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and for a moment, the light revealed the dark serrated blade clash against divine steel.

With eyes burning with a crimson haze in her lust for blood, the demon with wings as black as death lashed out with all its might, striking out at the heavenly being's head with ungodly speed and strength, all striking nothing but air or water or steel. Then, at last, the angel swung back, deflecting the demon's blade out the demon's hand, into the air, impaling stone a hundred feet from him.

The angel breathed heavily as it raised it blade to the demon's throat, its brilliant white wings extending on both sides to give the angel a majestic appearance before the demon. "Repent thine sins, and all shall be forgiveth."

Despite his obvious disadvantage, the demon kept its wicked sneer, stepping backwards ever so slowly. "Repent?" it challenged, "You'd like that? Wouldn't you?"

The angel smiled, laughing to himself, "It doesn't hurt to hope."

"Oh, but it does," countered the demon, still stepping away from the point of the angel's blade. "How can my kind ever hope to find reprieve? How can my kind ever hope to find forgiveness?"

"Your kind does not deserve forgiveness!" cried the angel, challenging the volume of the maelstrom itself.

"And these humans do?" jabbered the demon, knowing all too well that her insidious rambling were beginning to take effect on the angel. "They defy him as we defied him an eternity ago. What was once good is now evil, and what was wrong before is now acceptable… don't you see. They serve us now!"

"Betrayer!" the angel roared, drawing its sword back for the final strike. "At least you'll sleep better in hell!" Then with a defiant cry, the angel plunged the sword forward.

The blade cut through empty air as the demon bent over backwards, her nose evading the blade by the skin of her teeth, then reached above her, ripping her sword out of the ground in a hail of stone, sinking the other end of her blade into the chest of the angel's stomach.

The divine blade fell out of his hands with a clatter of defeat as the demon lifted the angel up into the air and skewered him to the very edge of the cliff. "Where is your messiah now, Gabriel?" a grim voice cackled high above raging maelstrom. Lighting flashed across the chaotic firmament. The demon sniggered as she twisted the hilt, crushing rock at the other end and ripping everything else in between.

The angel's screams were muffled by blood, gurgling from his throat. But even as the pain seared at his chest, the angel managed a smile, painfully laughing to himself. "You f-fool, Ag-nolasaiel… you… may have killed me b-but… you are still doomed."

"Doomed?" she coughed back mockingly, "You are in no position to mock me, Gabriel." With this, the demon drew her other hand back before plunging it right through the angel's ribcage, tearing through rock on the other side in a deluge of scarlet. The angel writhed in anguish with a blade tearing through his stomach and a fist through his chest.

The demon, smirked as she fingered the angel's heart within her chest, watching with delight as the angel writhed with pain as she tightened her grip around it. "No, my timeless adversary… it is you who are doomed, you and your whole kind. Killing you was but a step. Their souls will be ours soon enough."

Gnashing his teeth, Gabriel lifted her gaze to meet the demon's burning gaze, her voice seething through the cracks of her lips. "You will never get what you want… they will stop you."

The demon leaned over the angel's ears and whispered in a dry voice. "They can try," before finally clenching her fist and crushing the angel's heart. She watched as the heavenly being jolted painfully for the briefest of moments, before her entire body became completely limp.

But there was something else, something almost unseen: a trail of light, the angel's essence, was siphoned through her chest through the demon's hand. This light soon faded as the demon drew out its hand and sword from the angel's remains.

The demon looked on the wretched remains of the angel as she wiped the blood from her blade sheathed it away and the flame in her eyes died to a dull crimson. Suddenly her wings drew back into her shoulders. Her skin began to take shape, turning black around her torso and her hips, growing a tie around her neck. In the end, the demon turned out to be a school girl with light cerulean hair and smile fading to an expressionless face.

"I will see you again, when my kind reaches Heaven's Gates just in time to take back what is ours," said Rei, turning around and walking away, disappearing in the raging squall.

After a while, another figure emerged from the darkness. A young man wearing the local school uniform stepped onto the ledge, bending over and retrieving the angel's blade which had fallen a short distance from where its master lay. The grey haired boy with blood eyes took a final glance at the being of light and whispered to himself.

"May choirs of angels lead thy way to heaven, mighty Gabriel," said Kaoru, "May they grant you rest and sing thee to sleep. Your sword will stay here on Earth to avenge thee as God sends forth your avenger."

To be continued

Author's Ransom Notice:

That's right, I've got the rest of this fic tucked away. If you ever want to see the rest of it again, you will write me a review. That's right. A review!


	2. Shadow and Light

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**Heaven Sent**

_By crimsonwraith

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_Chapter 1: Light and Darkness_

Usually, people walk into bars, most of the times whole. When they come in, they usually expect a beer, have a few laughs, have a good time before returning to wherever they were supposed to go in the first place.

But this bar was not a usual bar, and today was not your usual day.

_K A T H U D_

A deafening eruption tore through the bar front as a woman's torso flew through the doors in a hail of lead, and collapsing onto the floorboards in a mess of blood and tangled entrails sprawling across the floor. The half woman winced painfully, cursing in a language unknown to the human tongue as she tried to crawl away from the door. The patrons within, rather than mindlessly running away from the woman without her bottom half, rushed to her aid, asking her questions, all in demon speak.

Black ooze seeped through the demons lips as it gurgled something incomprehensible, managing only to point to the door before collapsing lifelessly on the linoleum. Then all turned silent as they heard a loud hollow set of footsteps emerging from the door. Slowly their eyes lit up in fires of all hues, all finding the same person by the doorway. There stood a young woman with hair draping over her back like a river of copper and eyes hidden behind a set of shades. In her hands was a sawed off double barreled shotgun and on her face was a malicious grin.

"Is it me or did I catch you at a bad time?"

The room suddenly changed as all eight patrons throughout the bar changed simultaneously, growing wings of black behind them and dragon scales all over their skin. From thin air they drew a blade wreathed in flame and turned towards the intruder by the door.

The angel chuckled. "Hmpf. I guess I just have this effect on people."

Suddenly, the first demon drew its sword, leaping forward with its drawn back to slash at the girl, but then just as it was in swinging distance, the angel trained her shotgun at it's head and pulled the trigger.

_K A T H U D_

A second later, putrid black pulps of demon remains were splattered over the far wall. This triggered the other demons off, dashing towards the woman with a dark fury in their eyes.

Dropping the empty shotgun, the angel quickly rolled backwards, reaching into her trench coat and pulled out a pair of silver knives, flinging them into the crowd. The first knife found home between the eyes of one demon while the other found another's throat. Two fell down in a shower of black feathers while the six other continued to close their distance.

Upon completing her roll, the redhead waved her hands in front of her in a wide arch, pressing her palms into each other with a loud clap. She kept them together as two demons rushed at her from both flanks with blades raised and blood boiling. Then, as their blades began their descent towards her head, the angel finally lashed out. Two tangents of light arched out from her outstretched arms, tearing the demons in half, swords and all.

The remaining four demons froze for a moment, glaring at the twin blades in the copper haired slayer's hands outstretched like wings to both sides her, shining with a celestial light as two piles of black collapsed in pools of ooze and black plumes. Slowly, she picked herself up to her feet and gazed through her darkened shades towards the quaking hell spawns.

"Finished already? But I haven't even gotten started yet…" she whispered frigidly, shifting her blades towards the nearest foe. "Four on one, sounds kinky…" she said, then dashing forward with blades tearing through the air.

The first demon didn't even have enough time to feel cold bite of steel against his neck before the angel sliced it off with one fell swoop. With a graceful pivot, she plunged her second sword behind her, impaling the second demon's abdomen, then dragged it up, slicing the demon through the middle and listened as it fell apart with a sickening squelch of innards spilling all over the tiles behind her. .

_That's six,_ she counted, before hearing a splash to her right. The demon swung with all his might at the girl, his burning blade tearing everything before crashing into the tiled floor. Only that the only thing it found was empty air and after images of the girl. She had disappeared into thin air, or so she thought.

"My my," a chilled voice whispered behind his ear, "careful where you wave that big sword of yours…" That was all the demon heard before the angel ran a blade through the demon's throat which exploded in a fount of dun blood. As the body slipped to the floor, her eyes scanned the bar for the last surviving demon.

Slowly, she lifted her nose into the air and sniffed her surroundings. Her grin widened. Suddenly, she threw a blade, piercing counter like a bullet through flesh. Then silence fell over the bar.

After a short heartbeat, she made her way towards the bar, placed her second blade over the counter as she and jumped over it, ignoring the other blade which skewered a demon's head against the brink wall as she reached over, picking a bottle of whiskey from the shelf. As she popped open the cork lid, she took a quick glance at the body and shook her head. "Demons…"

"Samael," a loud voice proclaimed behind her.

The copper haired girl quickly reached into her jacket with her free hand, drawing out a silver plated pistol and aimed it at a being of light standing by the doorway. Her finger hovered over the trigger for a second before she decided to return the gun to her holster and enjoy her hard won whiskey.

The white seraph waded through the floor of entrails and bent over, retrieving a black steel tube from the floor. He turned towards the other angel and gave her a quizzical look. "I suppose that this is your toy?"

"Well," she muttered, dropping the bottle of whiskey from her mouth, "you know what they say? A girl's got to accessorize, right?"

Unamused by the other, Metatron heaved a dishelved sigh. "I feel sorry for the prophets that's going to have to clean this up…"

"After all," Samael added, "cleanliness is next to Godliness, isn't that right?"

"Not that you know much about that. Sometimes, I wonder if there is any difference between you and them…"

His words striking a chord in the other's mind, Samael's gaze hardened as she slammed the bottle onto the counter, which by some miracle did not break. "This is my job, Metatron! I do heaven's dirty work because high flyers like told me to. While you sit up there in your cozy little chair in the clouds, sipping tea with the saints, I'm stuck down here to hunt these demons down."

"Hmpf," scoffed the other, "indeed."

Feeling awkward, Samael decided to break the silence after downing a mouthful of whiskey. "So what the hell are you doing here, Metatron? Pissing me off isn't exactly in your job description."

"You're right," Metatron granted, his voice suddenly becoming despondent.

Before Samael could detect this in his voice, a quick but sudden flashed filled the room, stunning the younger angel. "Wh- what the hell?" she stammered, suddenly feeling a wrenching pain in her stomach. She struggled for a second to keep aloft, but the agony was too much, loosing her footing as she came crashing down to the floor. Wincing painfully, she managed to hiss between her clenched teeth. "Wh- what did you do to me?"

"You're going to need this for your next mission," was his short and somewhat useless explanation.

Clawing herself up to the counter, a snarling Samael felt something cold running between her legs, and as she looked down, her eyes widened beneath her darkened shades. "I'm having a p- period?"

The elder seraphim smile and chuckled to himself. "Yes, I had to make some… physiological changes to your celestial body. You still retain some of your angelic powers, but you have also become very much like a human girl… a teenager to be precise."

"Wh- why?" she grunted agonizingly. "How the hell is this going to help me do anything?"

"You need to fall pregnant."

"What?"

The seraph sighed. "Fifteen years ago, a special young boy was born. He is special in that he can decide the fate for humanity in who he conceives a child with. If he conceives a child with a being of light, then he chooses heaven for all mankind: the light will shine out from heaven, driving demons out of the land for a thousand years. However, if he conceives a child with a being of darkness, he chooses hell for all humanity: the world would fall into shadow of everlasting torment and anguish."

"Sounds like a dud deal to me," grunted the angel. "A thousand years if we win, until eternity if they win…"

"However, we seraphs and the archdemons have set down rules. The child must be conceived willingly, that means you can't just rape the boy and expect to win. The second condition is that the child must be conceived out of love. Everything else is fair game."

"Love?" Samael bit back, "just how the hell am I supposed to get him to love me? When the hell were you planning on telling me all this… is this some kind of sick joke you and your buddies are playing on me?"

"Good luck, we all have faith in you Samael," said Metatron as he turned around, before pausing and taking a final glance backwards, "or should I say… Asuka."

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but with a flash of blinding light, the seraph was gone.

After a long moment of silence, Samael bent over, drawing out her sword from a demon's head and grabbing the other from the counter. "well, at least I've still got you guys," she mused before holding them out. The twin blades began to glow a white light before they too, flashed brightly and disappeared into thin air.

Suddenly, a group of men in white, prophets, began to file through the door with cleaning equipment, all but one which came to her with a large folder. "This is for you."

"What's this?" she stammered, eyeing the folder closely.

"This is you… a girl named Asuka Langley Soryu. Age 14, graduated from University a year as a Rhodes Scholar, and pilot of a _bio-mechanoid_, Evangelion Unit 02, one of Lilith's stillborns. She went under a coma three minutes ago when you were chosen to take her place… she'll wake up when you succeed."

"Well, you're certainly optimistic." Curious, Samael took the file from the other's hands and began to leaf through it until she came across something. Her passport photo. "Metatron really was desperate… too bad for him, angels couldn't assume shapes like demons."

"This is also for you," said the prophet, handing her a blank envelope.

Raising a brow, Samael took the envelope with her free hand. "Plane tickets? I won't be needing this."

"But the child's guardian is expecting you to arrive to Tokyo-3 by plane… you'll blow your cover if you don't."

Heaving a defeated sigh, Samael smiled and placed the tickets inside the folder before closing it in her hands. "Fine-"

"And one more thing." The prophet paused, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a small white bottle which he presented to her.

"What is this?"

"It's called Paracetamol… this should help ease the pain…"

* * *

A day and several thousand miles later, young Asuka tilted the bottle to her eye stood in the arrivals reception area of the airport, peeking through the hole with a desperate look. She shook the bottle for a second, hoping to hear something rattle inside, but this time, there was only silence to answer her desperation.

"Damn it," she snarled to herself, "how the hell do humans live through these things?" She remembered the short briefing that the prophets gave her about her condition which came but once a month. The swelling, the bleeding, the agonizing pain… and this was before pregnancy. What nightmares await her then, she could only begin to wonder.

Growing impatient, Asuka looked over her shoulder to the large display at the front of the reception area and compared it to a note addressed by her would-be guardian, Misato Katsuragi. _I'll pick you up at __9:00 PM_ said the note. It was already 11 according to the display.

Slightly annoyed, Asuka slumped in her seat as several things began to weigh her down. Losing some of her powers, suffering through period pains, running out of Paracetamol along with Misato's tardiness drove the girl to the brink of sanity.

Then a shadow stopped in front of her. "You are the one sent by the light."

Asuka froze, smelling something familiar in the air. Her eyes darted up, finding a young cerulean haired girl standing ten feet away, wearing blue school uniform which somehow contrasted the crimson in her eyes. On her face was a grin and in her eyes was a glance of malice.

"It is my destiny… to become one with Ikari, one in mind and body, one for all eternity and you will not."

Slowly, she clasped her hand together, ready to draw her swords. "Not if I can do anything about it," scoffed Asuka.

The blue haired girl reached forward ready to draw her own blade from the ether before smiling dryly at the copper haired girl. "You can try…"

To Be Continued

To all those who are reading this, I thank you for reviewing my fic. Feedback means you get what you want and it means that you're reading my stuff. How does that saying go? Quid pro quo: I give you something, you give me something. Ne? I bet this answers Ghost Man's question… see, a review of a review.

The Lone Haranguer, I've only got one thing to say to you… well, two letters actually. AU.

Well, I hope I get reviews soon, especially since the real story has begun.


	3. No Man's Land

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**Heaven Sent  
**_By crimsonwraith

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_Chapter 2: No Man's Land_

A cold draught ran through the air, barely noticed as it caressed the darkness and murmured into Asuka's ears. But the draught was the last thing on her mind as she eyes the scarlet eyed demon. The young redhead reached into the ether, ready to pull her twin blades into the real world. All she needed now was a sign.

Any sign.

But the other lowered her hand, relaxing her stance and her gaze as Rei turned towards the darkness. "I am not here to kill you," she whispered icily. "That would be… dishonorable."

Asuka lowered her stance and grinned. "A demon with honor? Now I have seen everything."

"Do not misunderstand me," the cobalt haired girl hissed behind her. "I will defeat you, and claim his heart as well as his child. However, I will not place you in any harm. I hope that you will extend me the same courtesy."

"Hmpf," scoffed Asuka, eyeing the demon curiously. "Fine. You have my word, I won't try to kill you. Besides, it'd more… interesting this way."

The demon remained silent, feeling the cold wind blowing against her skin. For a second, she closed her eyes and ran hand through her hair. "I look forward to seeing heaven again." With this, she stepped into the darkness, fading into the night.

Leaving Asuka all to herself, wondering just what her enemy is. True, she was a demon, but there was something about her… something familiar, the pain in her whispers as if cries of a tormented soul. Asuka quickly shook her head and hardened her gaze. "She's the enemy," she reminded herself. "Either you beat her or everything you have worked for in the last ten thousand years would have been for nothing."

Suddenly, she heard a sharp screeching in front of her just as a blue Renault Alpine slid across the tarmac, barely bumping against the curb. Emerging from the drivers side, a all, slender young woman smiled at her warmly. "Asuka, is that really you?"

"Uh… y- yeah!" she stammered awkwardly. Even after ten thousand years, she still found it hard to lie.

"My how you've grown!" Misato carefully slammed her door close and moved over to inspect the girl. "Your figure certainly spilled out since the last time I saw you, hasn't it?"

The young girl suddenly found herself blushing. "Na- naturlich."

Suddenly, the elder woman paused. "Asuka? Is that really you?"

"O- of course!" she spluttered, still finding it impossible to lie convincingly. Then a thought came to her mind. "Hey! Why are you so late anyway, Misato. I've been waiting here for two whole hours… I nearly got mugged just then too."

"Oh, I'm sure you could've taken care of yourself."

"Damn right, I could've."

* * *

Standing above the Terminal rooftop, allowing the cool easterly breeze to caress her slender face and run through her short cerulean hair, Rei's crimson eyes pierced through the darkness as it locked onto the copper haired girl as she disappeared into the blue sports coupe which pulled from the curb and drove off into the night.

"Asuka," she whispered, half hidden by the murmur of the wind. "Of all the angels in heaven… why did they have to send you?"

"Rei," a whisper called out in the night air.

Rei's gaze shifted to her side, finding a young boy standing away, staring back at her with his bright ruby eyes. "Kaoru," she hissed icily.

The sallow haired boy simply smiled, turning his gaze out towards the city's flickering lights in the distance. "I should thank you for not slaying her, but may I ask… why?"

She answered with silence.

Kaworu cracked a smile. "I don't believe this whole honor excuse for a second, Rei. You slew Gabriel without mercy, without honor-"

"And you are here for revenge?" Rei whispered.

"No." Kaworu answered. "Revenge is far too lenient, Rei. No. I will make sure that you fail. I will make sure that Asuka, not you, claim his love and his child."

Rei remained silent, watching the lights of the city flickering in the distance like stars amidst the sky. Then she turned to face Kaoru with a bright red flame lit in her eyes. "Be careful, Kaoru. I swore an oath not to harm Asuka, I cannot, however, assure your safety. My only advice is for you to stay away. This is between me and Asuka alone, and neither heaven nor hell will stand between us."

* * *

The hallway was illuminated by the glow of halogen light bulbs, humming gently a few inches above Asuka's tawny locks as she watched an obstinate Misato fumbling with her keys.

"Aww! Did I forget the house keys again?" she mumbled irately to herself, before giving up, pressing the _Pim Pom _doorbell. "Shinji!" she called out into the speaker, "Could you open the door? I sort of accidentally forgot to bring my house keys."

"Again?" someone grumbled on the other side. "Alright, just hold on a second…"

_BEEEP_

A pneumatic hiss sounded the steel panel sliding open. Immediately, Asuka froze, her senses tingled as she was hit with a wave of tantalizing aromas infused within the atmosphere rushing out of the door. Then she noticed a pair of cobalt eyes, staring blankly back at her, his mouth ajar.

"Oh yeah," Misato paused, smiling brightly at the boy, "Shinji, I'd like to introduce you to Asuka Langley Soryu, the Second Child."

Asuka snapped from her daze, turning away to hide her face, which turned a bright red. "Uh… n-nice to meet you," she stammered, hopelessly unable to hide the awkwardness in her voice.

Shinji smiled sheepishly, then noticed Asuka holding a bag in her hand. "Uh, can I help you with that… or are there more bags that I could get for you?"

"No," Misato replied, shifting into the apartment past Shinji, "that's about everything… I was actually surprised. I would have thought that she'd have bring enough boxes to fill your room… at least she's got her uniform for tomorrow- ooh! Curry! Hey Pen Pen! How's my favorite pengy wengy?"

"Aargh," Asuka grunted, as her muscles cramped in her arms. "Damn it."

"Are you alright?" Shinji stepped closer, worried about the girl.

Asuka managed an awkward grin. "Uh, damn cramps. They're killing me…" She started to move towards the door when he saw Shinji standing with a smile across his face. "what's that for?"

Shinji's smile widened. "I know something that should make you feel better…"

* * *

"S-Shinji… oh God, no. Please no…" Asuka's voice escaped in short gasps as she sank beneath the boy's roaming hands. Painfully, she held back her tears as she lost herself to his touch. Asuka's grip tightened, clenching a fistful of bed sheets "Ah! Shinji, it- it hurts."

"S- sorry," he replied, "umm, a little higher?"

"Oh… yes. Right there… OH YES! YES!" Asuka melted as Shinji continued to push, finding home into her soreness. Her gasps shortened, she felt beads of sweat rolling down her brow as Shinji continued to press into her. "Yes! Ah! Don't stop Shinji, yeah. Harder! Harder!"

Suddenly, the door creaked open as Misato stepped in with a steaming mug of coffee, only to freeze, finding the two teenagers sitting on the bed with Shinji's hands moving up and down Asuka's back. "Hey guys! I was going to offer you some coffee… for a second there, I thought that you were-"

"Were what, Misato?" Shinji threw over his shoulder.

"Oh hey Misato," Asuka managed, finally collecting herself as she stood up from the bed, "did you know that Shinji's a really good masseur?"

"Not only a masseur," Misato corrected, giving the coffee to Asuka, "he can cook, he can clean and he can pilot the Eva pretty good too. Did you know that he killed his first angel with no prior knowledge or training."

"You killed an angel?" Asuka stammered, stumbling backwards, dropping the mug onto the floor with a loud crash as the porcelain splintered into a thousand shards. "No!"

"Well, the Angels did attacked us first," Misato chirped sheepishly, eyeing the mess on the floor "If he hadn't defeated the angel, I don't think we'd be alive right now."

Asuka paused. She considered educating them about how angels only attack demons, how it was their sworn duty to protect the human race. But then she remembered her mission, and more importantly, they were probably talking about something else. After all, how can Shinji defeat an angel? "I'm… sorry about this. I'll clean this up." Asuka mumbled, heading towards the kitchen. "I guess I should be thankful that I could help out and all."

"You, help out?" Misato's tone sounded to Asuka as more of ridicule. "I was kinda hoping that you were going to show Shinji how it ought to be done."

Shinji frowned. "Misato!"

"The legendary Second Child! With a synch ratio that dwarfs Rei's and your own combined. You could learn a thing or two from her, Shinji."

"But Rei's already teaching me, Misato," Shinji reminded her.

Asuka stepped back into the room with a rag, bending over to pick up the pieces of glass amidst the pool of coffee on the floor. "Ray," she said while she was cleaning, "sounds like a nice guy. As Asuka patted down the last pool of black and picked up the last shard of glass, she looked up, only to find Shinji with a half smile upon his face. "What is it now?"

"Rei's a girl, Asuka," he informed her in a casual manner. "She's a good pilot, and she's… a really good friend."

She didn't know why, but there was something about his voice that was warm, kind and nostalgic, and there was something in his calm blue eyes when he said it that frightened her more than any demon she had faced before.

Like that girl with eyes of fire.

* * *

Elsewhere, the room was illuminated by a dozen candles, bathing a young girl with an eerie red glow. Her short blue hair was half hidden in the shadows, but her eyes burned clearly through the darkness. Her footsteps resonated with echoes bouncing off the cavernous hall, stopping a short distance from a desk on the far end. Slowly, Rei bowed her head and knelt down.

"You are late," a voice boomed ominously, the owner hidden by a chair which faced out into a glass overlooking the lush evergreen canopies below. "Where have you been, Rei?"

The girl shuddered at her adopted name. "My lord, I have met the enemy… they have sent Samael."

"Is that so?" The chair slowly spun around, revealing a man, his eyes hidden behind darkened spectacles, his grin hidden behind interlacing fingers. "Will this prove… a problem?"

Rei shook her head. "No, my Lord."

"Good." Slowly, Gendo rose from his chair, paced around his desk and walked over the young girl. "You do know what we stand to gain here, do you not, Rei Ayanami?"

The girl nodded. "Of course, my Lord."

"With the birth of your child, we will purge the earth of heaven's taint. We will pile up their bodies like stepping stones to heaven until our fire burns heaven's gates." Gendo leaned closer over to girl, reaching over her chin and raised her gaze to meet his own. "With your child, Rei, we will take back what is rightfully ours."

"Heaven," she whispered. Closing her eyes, she heard the word echo in her mind as visions of paradise flashed by her. It had been more than ten thousand years since she had been banished, forced to suffer in hell, but her memories of heaven was as clear as ever. Slowly, her eyes opened, and with it, the light, the warmth, the peacefulness, all vanished with the reality of now.

Gendo smirked as he stepped back. "It is time for you to go now, Rei. It is time for school. Do whatever it takes to reach heaven."

* * *

Asuka never liked attention.

She preferred to hide in shadows, observe her environment and bid her time before finally moving in for the kill. However, the rules have changed enormously now. Now, she had to endure the humiliation of hundreds of eyes focused solely on her.

"Hey Yoshida," she heard some boys whispering in the back of the room, "have you seen the exchange student?"

"Yeah! Oh god, she's got such a nice rack."

"And an ass to die for…"

Asuka growled, burying her head into her desk, hoping to drown out all the gossip. "This is so degrading," she muttered to herself. "I bet Metatron's up there laughing his face off at me."

Suddenly, she felt a hand fall on her shoulder. The girl looked up, finding a certain white haired boy smiling brightly back at her. "Hello!" he greeted, "So you're Shinji's new friend."

Asuka shook her head, before directing him towards the boy's desk some three desks in front. "Some friend…"

"Well you know what they say… friendship is something you have to work on… just like love."

The girl jolted backwards. "Wh- what?"

Kaoru chuckled, leaning over her ear and whispered softly. "I'm on your side… Samael."

Asuka's eyes widened, her jaws hanging widely as she watched the boy taking his seat to her right. He gave her an acknowledging nod before reaching into his bag to retrieve his books from his bags.

Suddenly, Asuka sensed something dark looming over the room. Her eyes darted towards the door. There, a familiar blue haired girl entered the room, her crimson eyes quickly glancing her way before she took a seat right next to Shinji.

"Good morning, pilot Ikari," she greeted nonchantly, taking her seat.

The boy blushed. "G- good morning, Ayanami."

Emerging from the doorway, an elderly teacher emerged with a briefcase in hand.

A freckled girl stood up at the front. "Class, rise… bow… sit…"

"Thank you, Hikari…" the elderly teacher said. "Today… we will be having a pop quiz on Ancient History. Front half of the class against the rear half of the class. The losing half will be staying back for cleaning duty."

The class groaned collectively as they slowly began to divide, the front half lined up near board, the back half lining up at the end of the room. Asuka quickly smiled. _Now's my chance to impress Shinji…_

"Alright," said the teacher as he moved to the middle of the room, "you know how this works. If you get it wrong, you have to sit down. Each side takes turns. The team who loses all their members lose. Now to start off the game… front half… where can we find ancient Babylonia?"

* * *

Forty minutes later, only four children remained: Rei and Shinji from the front and Asuka and Kaoru from the back. The rest of the children sat at their desks, cheering their side on.

The teacher smiled as her turned his attention towards Shinji. "Remus and Romulus were key figures of which empire?"

Shinji paused with a blank look at his face. He paused and thought about the question for another second. _Remus?_ he thought to himself before taking a punt. "Is it… Egypt?"

The teacher sighed as he shook his head. "No… the correct answer is Rome."

Shinji shrugged before quietly shuffling towards his seat, leaving Rei the only one standing at the front.

"Now, for Kaoru…" he eyed him wickedly. "Who is the oldest dated human being and where was his remains found?"

A smirk suddenly came across his face. "Lilith."

The teacher shook his head. "Kaoru… as the smartest student in this class, I would have thought that you would have known better… the correct answer is Amy, whose remains were found in Africa."

"Of course," said the boy as he moved towards his desk, leaving Asuka on her own at the back.

The teacher smiled. "Now… for sudden death. Whoever answers this first, correctly, wins. Are you both ready?"

Both girls nodded.

"Now… what is the oldest profession?"

As soon as Rei's hand shot up, Asuka's heart fell. "Is it…" she began, "hunting?"

Asuka raised a brow. The teacher followed suit. "Hunting isn't quite right…" he said, "the correct answer is prostitution, which makes the back half of the room the winner."

The bell rang.

"Ah! Front half, please stay behind for clean up duty. The back half can go."

All of a sudden, the back half of the room stood up and hurried out of the room. Asuka quickly grabbed her bag and rushed to the door, only to find Kaoru waiting for him by the corridor. "You should have lost that one, Asuka."

"On purpose?" Asuka shot back.

Kaoru nodded. "Rei is a smart one… she lost that contest on purpose."

Asuka raised a brow. "Why would she want to look like an idiot in front of Shinji?"

"Why won't you have a look for yourself?" He pointed back towards the room.

Curious, the redhead reluctantly leaned in on the door.

Shinji stood frozen, watching as Rei wiped the windows clean. His hands shook at his side as if he were nervous about something. Then with a deep breath, the boy approached girl. "Uh… Rei, can I… um, uh… help you?"

Rei turned towards him and nodded. "If you wish."

Asuka squinted, trying to get a better look when all of a sudden, a hand fell on her shoulder.

"As I said," Kaoru began, "she is clever."

Asuka frowned. "So what? He's just helping her clean the window. Big deal."

"You are wrong…" He pointed to the pair cleaning the window. "Shinji is attracted to her…"

"Shinji's attracted to her?" Asuka challenged. "I mean, the whole doll infatuation just doesn't work. It's so superficial. It's not love."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Asuka affirmed, though her shaky tone seemed undermine it. She took a quick glance at the pair cleaning the window just as Shinji shuffled closer to the other girl. "Of course… it has to be, doesn't it?"

* * *

_Asuka – 0  
__Rei – 1

* * *

To be continued_


	4. Cold Fire

**

* * *

**

**Heaven Sent  
****By crimsonwraith

* * *

**

_Chapter 3: Cold Fire_

"Ng- gah! Let go of me!" Asuka painfully screamed to the top of her lungs, but to no avail as a pair of hellspawn lead her down a path of destruction. She gnashed her teeth, peering through her blood drenched eyes. Her heart skipped a beat.

The darkened sky covered the burning cities as agonizing screams and blood filled the air. Demons in their thousands tormented their human captives, trudging atop the broken bodies of countless angels. That was when she saw him, in the distance: Kaoru, crucified upon a valley of fire.

Suddenly they stop, casting Asuka down into the dirt. The girl struggled to push herself up again, but then froze as a shadow fell upon her with a sound more frightening than howl of demons or the tortured screams of men.

It was the laughter of a child.

Asuka lifted her gaze and found the baby in the arms of its mother with its father looking lovingly from behind. "She has your eyes, my love," said Shinji to his wife.

The blue haired girl smiled lovingly as she looked at her child. "And she has your smile," said Rei, taking a quick glimpse at the broken girl at her feet, "my love."

* * *

"No!" Asuka screamed, awakening wide eyed to the darkness. She watched as the afterimages of the family fade into the darkness and listened as her heart slowed within her chest. Slowly, she wiped her brow with her arm and felt a light coat of sweat.

She hardened her gaze as she stood up from her bed. "What's wrong with me?" For a long moment, she stood in the darkness, pondering an answer for herself, but when none came, she left her room.

As she headed for the pantry, she noticed a light coming from the kitchen. At first, she thought that perhaps it was Misato searching for her midnight beer, but when she saw the boy emerging from the fridge door, she stopped in midstride. "Shinji!" she gasped, her reddening face half hidden by the darkness. "Wh- what are you doing up this late?"

He looked up with a puzzled gaze and checked his watch. "Asuka, it's 5:30 in the morning."

"Okay," she muttered to herself, "So what are you doing up this _early?_"

The boy dove back into the fridge in search of something. "I'm making some lunch."

"Doesn't Misato do that for you?"

Suddenly, the boy sniggered, bumping his head on the fridge. "Misato? Cook?" he laughed to himself. "I'm still trying to get the taste of her last home cooked lunch out of my mouth."

"That bad huh?"

"At the very least," he laughed, emerging with a dish of breast fillet chicken which he placed onto the counter where a chopping board and a knife awaited them. He began to dice the chicken when he paused, throwing a backwards glance towards the girl near the hallway. "You wouldn't happen to be able to cook, Asuka, would you?"

She paused. "I guess I really haven't tried before."

"Why not?"

"Well, I really didn't need to eat… that much. I mean… I've got a very strict diet," she managed awkwardly, not at all convincing.

"Oh," was all that Shinji managed. "I see…" His voice seemed downcast as he continued to dice the chicken.

Asuka saw his gaze suddenly becoming distant as he stuck a skewer through a few diced pieces of chicken. Something told her that there was something more to this than just being able to cook. Something told her that this meant the difference between a dream and a nightmare.

* * *

"So you want to cook?" Kaoru asked, arching a brow at Asuka as they paced down the hallway side by side. He curled his lips. "That's not such a bad idea at all. What ever made you think it up?"

Asuka blushed, then turned away. "I guess Shinji's tired of cooking for the three of us all of the time."

Kaoru remained silent, skeptic of the girl's reasons. "Well… you know what humans say. The fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"That's not right," the girl countered. "The fastest way to a man's heart is through his ribcage."

The boy's head drooped wearily. "You really didn't really interact much with humans much as an angel, did you?"

She shook her head. "I didn't need to. I just had to find demons and slay them."

"In that case," Kaoru began, stopping and eyeing the girl, "We should get started as soon as we can. We'll get started after school at my apartment. Find Shinji and tell him that you'll be coming home late."

"Alright," Asuka replied, waving to him. "I'll talk to you later."

"Indeed," Kaoru sighed, eyeing the girl as she walked away, smiling to himself. "Indeed…"

Shinji hesitated, watching Rei from the corner of the room with a lunchbox in his hands. He had planned this for weeks after he had noticed that Rei had never brought lunch with her before. Perhaps if she likes his homemade lunch, maybe they could spend some time together. And with that thought, the boy summoned all his courage as she walked towards the girl.

"Um, Rei," he stammered as he paused in front of her.

The cerulean haired girl looked up in silence.

"Uh… I was wondering… if you'd like to… I mean, if it's alright, maybe you and I could…"

"What is it that you you want, pilot Ikari," he asked dryly.

The boy gulped heavily. "Rei," he began nervously, "would you… like to have lunch with me?"

Oddly enough, the girl blushed as she looked away, but not before managing a discreet nod. "uh… Th- thank you, Shinji."

Shinji lit up as he dragged a chair over to her desk and began to unfold his lunch. All the while the red head stood upon the doorway watching the pair eat their lunch with a dumbstruck look on her face.

* * *

"How does she do it?" Asuka snarled menacingly as she carved a carrot to shreds. "I mean, how does she get him eating out of her hands? The whole doll affection is creeping me out."

Kaoru shook his head as he lit up the stove and began to boil some rice, then returned to the benchtop opposite Asuka as he wrapped baked seaweed around a tightly roll of rice with carrots and steamed beef in the middle. "Those two have been through quite a lot together, Asuka. She saved his life, you know."

Asuka paused, grabbing another carrot as she rose her attention towards the boy. "She what?'

"Two months ago," he explained, "when the Fakes attacked the city, Rei jumped in front of the beam intended for Shinji and saved his life. She was injured as the result of the encounter, but it obviously had an impact on Shinji."

"W- wait!" the redhead cut in, "did you say two months ago?"

He nodded his head. "It was a part of their condition for this wager. That demon certainly did use her time well. As you've said, he's practically chasing after her now."

"Then just why the hell did you agree with it?" an enraged Asuka shrieked, wincing as she felt the knife graze her fingers. She quickly drew her hand back, noticing the crimson bleeding from the tip of her index finger.

Kaoru quickly grabbed her hand and led her towards a running faucet and watched the blood running down the drain. "Because, Asuka… someone believes in you. Now hold still and clean your wound while I grab a band aid," he said, walking away. "You know Asuka… you have to be careful. Humans are fragile, they are wounded easily."

"I know," she grunted, her gaze becoming distant. "I know."

Then the boy returned and wrapped a gauze tape around her finger before smiling brightly. "Now… shall we keep cooking?'

* * *

Scores of bullets ripped through a man's chest just before he collapsed and become frigid, with blood splattering all over the place. Misato leaned in closer to the TV set, eyeing the hero tear a swath through the enemies' army with his handgun, mimicking it as she formed a gun with her hand and shot the screen. "Eat that and that!" she squealed maniacally.

A tentative sweat drop rolled down Shinji's brow as he began continued to cook dinner when he heard a knock. "Misato!" he called out to the woman on the couch, "can you get the door?"

"HA! DIE!" she continued to scream, pretending to blow away the enemy on the screen.

He quietly grumbled to himself as he made his way towards the door, opening it to find Asuka on the other side. She seemed tired, but managed a smile nonetheless. "Sorry I'm so late."

"Where've you been?" he asked, with an inclination of anxiety in his voice.

The girl lifted a plastic bag filled with food. "I was over at a friend's house learning how to cook."

At this, the boy lifted a brow. "That's nice but you should have told me where you were going. I was really worried about you."

Suddenly, Asuka flustered up. "Y- you were?"

"Of course!" he asserted, then noticed a gauze tape wrapped around her index finger. He quickly grabbed her hand and pointed out to her injury. "Asuka! What happened your finger?"

"Huh?" she followed his gaze to her injury. "Oh that! I guess I got distracted while I was dicing the carrots…"

"You should be more careful!" Shinji pointed out leading her back into the apartment.

Asuka lowered her head, "I was just trying to cook something, you jerk."

"I don't really care about food, Asuka. If you hurt yourself because of me, I wouldn't know what to do with myself." With this, he smiled as he closed the door, and moved to the end of the hallway. "Come on, let's see what you made…"

A warm feeling came over Asuka as she followed the boy towards the dining room, when all of a sudden, she sensed a dark aura lingering on the other side. Her eyes narrowed as she dashed in, only to find a young blue haired girl already sitting at the table. "What the hell are you doing here?" Asuka gasped breathlessly.

"Asuka!" Shinji growled angrily, stepping in to defend Rei. "Show Rei a little respect. I invited her over for dinner."

Suddenly, he heard a loud screeching behind him as he Rei stood up. "If miss Soryu is uncomfortable with my presence, perhaps it is best if I leave-"

"Please don't!" Shinji cut in sharply, before eyeing Asuka. "Miss Soryu doesn't have a problem, does she?"

Wide eyed, the girl remained in silent disbelief for a few tentative heartbeats. Her mind turned blank as she hardened her gaze shoved the plastic bag into the boy's chest. "Of course not. Here, enjoy your dinner with your _girlfriend_," she growled as she stomped back out the hallway.

With the pneumatic hiss of the doors sliding back close, Asuka was gone leaving Shinji wondering just why Asuka was acting so weird. Meanwhile, Rei stood a short distance behind with a smile barely noticeable. _You give up to easily_, she thought to herself, _my love._

* * *

To be continued

* * *

Author's notes

At the second scene, Shinji was cooking Yakitori, it's kind of like barbequed chicken based with teriyaki marinade and garnished with shallots. Later, Asuka and Kaoru cooked sushi… I guess you guys already know what sushi is.

Too much Iron Chefs for me.


	5. Déjà vu

**

* * *

**

Heaven Sent  
**By crimsonwraith

* * *

**

Chapter 4: Memories

The darkness was unsettling, even for Rei. She had never gotten used to the darkness over, not for the last ten thousand years. It wasn't really the lack of light that she was frightened of. Rather, it was what hid in the darkness that frightened her so. She closed her eyes and knelt down on one knee, hoping that the shadows would listen. "What is your bidding, master?"

A hollow footstep echoed behind her, sending cold jolts down the girl's spine. Then a dark figure emerged from the shade, the red light gleaming off his spectacles. A cold smile spread itself across his lips. "Ayanami Rei," the demon began as he slowly circled the girl, "tell me, why have you not progressed in your mission?"

"I need time," Rei uttered dryly. "The boy's attraction to me is apparent, but not to the point where we could conceive a child. I will need more time before we establish such a bond."

"And what about this rival of yours… this Asuka Langley Soryu…" The elder man put forward in a glacial tone, "tell me why you have not eliminated her?"

The girl jerked inwardly, caught off guard by the suddenness of his statement. She quickly hardened her gaze. "She poses no threat to the mission."

Gendo saw this as he continued to circle her like a vulture around a corpse. "No threat, you say. I wonder. It seems to me that she is more resourceful than we previously assessed. She has caught the boy's eye."

"Shinji is still mine," she affirmed. "He still favors me. I need a little more time to gain his trust before we can conceive a child out according to the conditions. The boy does not even trust the Asuka."

"That is not what my agents report," countered Gendo, stopping in mid-stride. "They say that the girl is slowly gaining ground on you. They say that the girl is… intuitive. What have you to say?"

"She is not a threat." Her voice came as cold as ice.

"Is that so?" Gendo paced towards the girl, holding her by the chin and lifting her gaze to meet his own. "I have little reason to doubt your judgment, however, it would appear to me that she is succeeding in one thing."

Rei kept a vacant glance as she noticed Gendo's eyes glow crimson for the briefest of moments before fading back into the darkness. "May I ask, master, what may that be?"

He grinned as he released the girl's chin, walking back into the darkness with fading footsteps. "It would seem that she has already won somebody's heart."

The footsteps disappeared, leaving Rei alone to herself to ponder Gendo's last words. Finally, she stood up closed her eyes to the void. "Asuka, after ten thousand years… do you still remember me?"

* * *

The first lights of day peered through the shadows of a dun room, falling upon the eyelids of a young girl, rousing her from her slumber. A groan escapes her throat as she rolls over, burying a pillow over her face in hopes of finding a few more minutes of sleep. Trouble was… she was already wide awake.

Hissing something beneath her breath, Asuka flung her pillow to some distant corner of her room before dragging herself out of bed. Long bags hung beneath her eyes as she opened her blinds, allowing the dawn to flood into her room. At this she smiled as she headed to kitchen.

She had barely stepped out of her room when she heard rustling in the kitchen. Her expression darkened, anticipating a certain young boy cooking. To her surprise, she finds a blue haired woman raiding the fridge for something to eat. Asuka smiled as she walked up to her with a wicked smile as she tapped the unsuspecting woman on the shoulder.

"Oh god!" Misato screamed out as she slammed her head on the ceiling of the fridge. Misato winced as she emerged from the fridge, placing an ice cold can of beer against the growing lump on her cranium. "Asuka, what do you think your doing?"

"Sorry," the younger girl laughed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," grumbled Misato as she lowered her beer from her head and pull the ring tab open. "Can I help you with something, Asuka?"

"No." The girl shook her head as she made her way over to the fridge, grabbing herself a can of beer. "Can I?" she asked, turning towards Misato.

Misato shrugged. "Well, can you?"

Asuka scoffed as she fingered the can open with one hand, before throwing half the contents down the back of her throat. Sighing as she lowered a half empty can, she eyed Misato sipping on her beer. "Hey Misato, why do you think Shinji's so in love with Rei?"

The woman's answer came in a mist of beer as Misato choked on her beer. "W- what did you say?" she stammered.

Asuka looked away. "What does Shinji see in her, anyway?"

After clearing her throat Misato looked up at the girl to find a distant expression on her face. "Just why are you so interested anyway?" Suddenly a thought struck her. "Why? Are you after Shinji?"

Asuka remained silent for a moment, then nodded her head. "I… I am!" She half expected the woman to squeal in delight, teasing her about her childhood crush on the boy, but surprisingly, only a warm smile came upon the woman's face.

"I had a feeling you were," she admitted, downing the remains of her can. "Nothing like a home cooked meal to say what you feel, I always say."

Asuka grumbled, doubting just what Misato had to say, but where she stood, there was simply nothing to lose. "I don't think Shinji cares if I cook or not."

"It's not the cooking that Shinji likes in a girl," Misato explained, "Otherwise, he wouldn't even look at Rei. You see… those two have been through a lot together-"

"Tell me something I don't know," grumbled Asuka as she resigned herself back into her room, rather starving for a few more hours than discussing love with Misato.

Eyeing the girl as she disappeared behind her door, Misato took a final sip off her can before setting it against the bench with a sigh. "Good luck, Asuka. You're going to need it."

* * *

For some reason, Asuka had been acting around Shinji. She had been trying to avoid him all day. The boy looked at the lunch he prepared specially for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Something told him that this had something to do with the incident last night. Even then, something odd struck him.

Just why was she so upset with Rei? They barely knew each other, but it seemed as if they had a grudge against each other. Shinji thought about the possibility for a second, but quickly gave up, finally deciding to give Asuka's share to Rei when a shadow fell over him. His gaze lifted to find the red head staring back at him.

"Asuka!" Shinji gasped nervously. "I- I can explain!"

The girl wore a sober expression as she eyed the lunchbox, then the blue haired girl a few tables away before returning it to Shinji's face. "It's for her, isn't it?"

"N- not really!" blurted Shinji as he sat up. "Actually, I made this for you. Misato talked to me this morning about your problem."

The girl's eyes shot open. "Misato did WHAT?"

"She told me everything," the boy explained, "you should have told me from the beginning, Asuka. I would have been more than accommodating."

"What do you mean, more than accommodating?" Asuka stammered, choking on herself, "how can you just say that?"

"Cooking lunch for you is really no problem at all."

A blank expression struck Asuka's face. "Lunch?"

"Yeah!" Shinji nodded, taking out the boxed lunch and setting it out across his table. "It was pretty thoughtless of me making my own lunch and not helping you out. We're partners and we really should be helping each other out." He reached into his bag and took out a pair of chopsticks, offering it to Asuka as he opened the lid off the lunchbox. "Please, help yourself."

Unbeknowst to the girl, her face lit up a bright shade of pink as she took the chopsticks from the boy. "Th- thanks… Shinji…"

"You're welcome," Shinji smiled with a quick nod.

* * *

An amber glow bathed the city streets as the sun dwindled aimlessly towards the horizon. Standing outside the school gates, Kaoru eyed his watch. It was 5:34. Asuka was more than an hour late for cooking. "This is hopeless…" he told himself as he lifted his bag onto his shoulder when he heard footsteps heading his way. His eyes followed the streets and found a man staring back at him behind his glass spectacles.

"It has been an eternity, Tabris," Gendo mused. "How is Gabriel by the way?"

Kaoru hardened his gaze as he dropped his bag, pulling out his sword from the ether. "Damn you, Ikari!"

"Did you really believe that I would allow you to interfere?" Gendo said as he stretched out his hand, slowly pulling out a flaming blade out of thin air. "Arrogant fool."

"Hypocrite!" Kaoru swore, "Two months you've been helping to bring Rei and Shinji together, don't you dare lecture me on interfering, cursed DEMON!" He screamed at the top of his voice as he charged forward, his blade arching for Gendo's head, only to shred a few strands of auburn hair as the demon ducked beneath it.

Gendo smirked as he watched the boy swing aimlessly at him, each swing finding empty air as he easily weaved through his attacks as if they were nothing. "Is this all that you've got, Tabris? You disappoint me."

Huffing with each swing, Tabris clenched his teeth as he swung the blade. His strokes were missing the demon by a hair's width with each swing, but he knew that it was only playing with him. Suddenly, he noticed the demon's hand shooting for his chest, his palms turning a dark crimson.

BAM!

All of a sudden, the boy was flung through the air like a rag doll, slamming into the concrete walls with enough force to create a small crater. Blood seeped through Kaoru's mouth as he collapsed onto the floor, his chest still smoldering. His eyes looked up, finding his sword a short distance from where he lay. He also noticed the foot set aside it.

"Pathetic." The demon kicked the boy's head, clearly enjoying himself as he watched the boy groan in agony. "How we were ever defeated by weaklings such as yourself ten thousand years ago, I wonder…" He slammed his foot into Kaoru's back and began to grind him into the ground. The boy yelped painfully as he felt the leather heels dig into his flesh. "Get used to this," Gendo said, "you'll be spending eternity in hell when Rei conceives Shinji's child."

Kaoru glanced up weakly, only to find the sword descend upon his head.

_SCHINK!_

"No!" he screamed as he opened his eyes, falling over the school gates. The boy looked confused for a second, half shocked to find himself in one piece. There were no gaping imprints in the concrete, no traces of blood on the ground and no signs of Gendo to be seen anywhere.

At this he smiled. "It was only a dream," he said to himself as he carefully pushed himself back up, then winced as a burning pain surged through his chest. "Wh- what in the h-"

"Hey Kaoru!" a familiar voice called out.

The boy quickly shifted his attention to the front entrance and found Asuka and Shinji walking towards him. He quickly smiled as he waved to them. "A- Asuka! You're a little late."

Asuka pouted as she stopped in front of him angrily placed her hands on her sides. "Just what in the hell are you saying, I'm late. It's only four."

Puzzled, Kaoru checked his wrist watch again only to confirm the girl. He blushed as he began to scratch the back of his head. "Uh… my mistake."

"You bet it is," growled the red head. Then she noticed Shinji eyeing them awkwardly. "I totally forgot! Shinji, this is Kaoru. He's been teaching me how to cook."

The boy extended a hand towards Kaoru. "Uh… hi!" he managed.

Kaoru reached forward and shook his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Shinji. Asuka's told me a lot about you."

"Really?" Shinji stammered, releasing himself from the handshake. As he drew back his hand, Shinji eyed Asuka and Kaoru in turn, then eyed Asuka wickedly. "Asuka, you don't have to lie to me."

"Wh- what?" the girl growled.

Disregarding all regard for his own safety, Shinji continued. "You don't have to make excuses about cooking. You shouldn't be ashamed of your boyfriend."

Both Kaoru and Asuka reeled back in shock. "WHAT?"

Shinji lit up a bright pink. "You mean, you're not going out with each other?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" they screamed in unison.

"Asuka, you've been going out a lot lately, and I've noticed that you're with him a lot, so naturally, I thought that you two had a thing for each other."

A tentative sweat drop rolled down Asuka's brow as she pushed Kaoru's away. "I said that I only go with him to learn how to cook, you-"

"Argh!"

Startled at the pained grunt, Asuka spun around to found the boy clenching his chest as he grimace painfully. "Kaoru, are you alright?"

"Ah- I'm fine Asuka."

"No you're not, let's get you to home quick." She slung his arm over his chest and began to head towards Kaoru's apartment when he found Shinji eyeing them both.

"Cooking… you say," he teased. He looked away for a moment when who should he see but Rei, walking across the street. "I'll leave you to your… cooking, Asuka," he said as he began to run towards the girl. "Rei! Rei!"

Kaoru tried to stand on his own, knowing what a burden he has become to Asuka, when – "Don't move, Kaoru."

"But he's going to go with Rei," Kaoru pointed out the two walking away together. "You have to stop her."

"No I don't," Asuka contested, "You're hurt quite badly, Kaoru. I have to help you back home. Now hold still or I'm going to break something."

Limping alongside the girl, Kaoru threw a glancing look at her face and found it genuinely concerned for her comrade. He didn't know whether she was a fool for letting Rei win this time around, but she cared for him, and this knowledge brought a smile across his face.

* * *

To be continued. 


	6. Chaos

**

* * *

**

Heaven Sent  
**By crimsonwraith

* * *

**

_Chapter 5: Chaos_

Sheltered from the raging storm behind a ten inch thick reinforced fiberglass shield, Admiral Whitaker could not help but sense a lingering darkness hidden in the squall. He hardened his gaze, searching for something hidden in the skies or in the waves. For forty years he had sailed the seas. Storms were nothing unusual to him, but there was something unnerving about this one.

Something… not of this earth.

The unsteadiness of the admiral was infectious, bothering all the controllers and officers inside the control island of the American aircraft Carrier, _Vigilant_. Captain Reynolds saw this as well, he too growing anxious of the admiral's wariness. "Admiral," he began, "the fleet has completed the half kilometer spread. Storm preparations have been accomplished."

"O- of course. My apologies Captain." he stammered, throwing the captain an acknowledging nod. "Have the crew of the _Vigilant_ stand down. I want them in the mess hall for dinner by 1800 hours. I heard the cooks were preparing a surprise for the men."

"Understood sir," acknowledged the captain before turning his attention to the XO. "Bring the men back on deck."

"Aye, Captain-"

Suddenly, an operator rose from his station. "Con sonar… bearing 305, distance 27 miles. Depth… approximately one hundred feet."

"Probably a Russian Submarine waiting out the storm," suggested the admiral. "Sonar, I want you to keep an eye on him, let me know if he makes a move."

"Admiral!"

"Yes, seaman Francis. Just like that."

The operator shook his head, throwing glances between the admiral and his screen. "No, admiral… the contact has began to move towards the Vigilant. Current speed… 45 knots and accelerating."

"What?" the captain gasped. "That's impossible."

"It's no submarine," mused the admiral, narrowing his eyes towards the pouring rain. "They're finally here…"

"Speed: 68 knots and rising, admiral."

Finally, the old man rose up and took command. "Raise alert condition to level 1: all men to battle stations."

"Aye captain," acknowledged the XO. "Raising alert condition to-"

"Distance 13 miles and closing, admiral. The signal… it's enormous!"

The admiral gnashed his teeth. "Prepare to launch Harpoon tubes 1 to 14… electronics," he called over to another operator across the bridge, "Run a full spectrum analysis on this thing. I want to know what it is."

"Aye captain!"

"Distance 8 miles and closing…"

"Man at arms, have we got a lock?"

Another man managed a quick salute. "Aye, admiral. Weapons are locked and loaded. Awaiting your order to fire."

He threw a glance over to the captain and found the younger man trembling. They all were, but now was not a time to be frightened. "Fire on my mark…" He watched as the man-at-arms place a hand on a button.

"Distance 5 miles…"

"Fire!" he screamed.

Outside, a streaks of white smoke rocketed out of the deck as 14 missiles soared high into the air. One missile was capable of tearing through the bunker, 14 would have been overkill in most cases. This was not such a case.

The admiral watched as the fourteen missiles punched through the surface of the waves, followed by fourteen pillars of water exploding from it as a massive wave soared towards them… then passed by harmlessly as if it didn't see them.

The men braced the nearest fixture as the cruiser was hit by a massive swell, throwing unknowing seamen across the bridge. Then, a long silence passed, the only sound was the pitter patter of rain drumming against the glass and the heartbeats thumping in the men's chest. Admiral Whitaker sighed, half out of relief for surviving, half terrified by the thought of the encounter.

"Where is that… that thing headed, sonar?" he barked out.

The young seaman glanced at his screen before returning his gaze. "If it continues its course… it should reach Japan within the hour.

Then the electronics operator slowly rose from his console to face the admiral. "S- sir… I h- have completed the analysis… I think you should look at this."

* * *

Victory came in but a hair's width as two girls lunged for a red ribbon. Both fell face first into the grass, only one rose triumphantly. To the victor went the acclaims, to the loser, only a pat and a wish for "better luck next time." 

These humans were certainly odd.

Asuka sat by the grass, watching as the girls ran five at a time around an oval track. She noted the behavior of the girls around her: most of them fearing to come last. It seemed that most of them had been fearing this day for quite some time now, but Asuka was far from concerned. She only had one race to win, but no matter how hard she tried, she was always losing.

The finish line: Shinji Ikari

Her competition: Rei Ayanami

"Next!" she heard the gym teacher call out, picking 5 more girls out of the group. There wasn't many left, she noted. There was her, the class representative, a few fat girls and then there was Rei. Her attention seemed to be focused on the far end of the field where all the boys were holding their event: high jump, Asuka noted. She saw Kaoru clear the bar and sink into the mat. _His wounds must have healed._

_BANG!_

Asuka watched as the five girls hurtle down the track as fast as they could. But why are they trying so hard? There was nothing for them to gain out of the exercise, no prize for coming first and no penalty for coming last. It made no sense to Asuka.

Suddenly, a shadow fell upon her. The redhead quickly looked up to find the gym teacher staring down on her. "Okay, new kid. You're up next. Lane 1."

"Yeah, whatever." The girl quickly lifted herself up to her feet and shuffled over towards the clay track, passing Rei on lane 5.

The cerulean haired girl turned coldly towards her. "Are you ready, Asuka?"

She gnashed her teeth as she passed Rei on her way to her own lane. "If I were you, I'd worry about myself, Rei."

"That's enough, girls!" the teacher screamed out as she loaded her gun, lifting it to the air. "On your marks…"

As Asuka set her foot against the starting blocks behind her, she noted a few boys watching them from the High Jump mats. She could see Kaoru smiling at her from a distance… and Shinji cheering Rei on.

_BANG!_

"Wha!" Asuka stammered, briefly catching a glimpse of the girls taking, leaving her in their wake. The girl snarled something under her breath as she exploded from her blocks in bounding leaps. This was not a race she was willing to lose, especially not against Rei.

The blue haired girl lead the five, some ten meters ahead of Asuka, but that distance closed as the redhead stormed down the track at a blistering pace. Asuka passed her nearest rival, leaving the fat girl in her dust. The next was slightly fitter, but not by much as Asuka left her in her wake, leaving two more girls to beat.

The class representative, the one named Hikari was incredibly athletic despite her slender frame. It took Asuka a while to catch the girl, but soon enough she had passed her. Leaving Rei to catch.

_Come on!_ she told herself. _You can't lose! Not again!_ She placed all she had in her sprint, and she was slowly catching up, but not fast enough. The finish line was closing in, there wasn't much time left. Hardening her resolve, Asuka threw every ounce of power that she had left and leapt forward, her arms outstretched hands reaching for the red finishing ribbon.

For a moment, it seemed as if she could fly as she soared through the air, her hand about to snag the ribbon when she began to fall. She watched helplessly as her hand fell short of the ribbon as the ground grew beneath her. The girl hit the ground with a loud thud, skidding across the clay for a few feet before coming to a complete halt, with grazes all over her arms and legs. But what hurt the worst was her pride.

Rei had won… again.

"Damn it," she hissed as she slowly pushed herself up, then found a hand offered to her. She looked up, and to her surprise, found Rei staring down at her.

"Lend me your hand," she said.

Asuka didn't answer, half stunned at what she was witnessing. _This demon… her sworn enemy… is reaching out for me. But why? We are supposed to be at war, and yet she is smiling… at me…_ confused, the girl slowly lifted a hand and reached out, swiping Rei's hand away. Gnashing her teeth, Asuka painfully pushed herself off the ground. "I don't need your help."

For a second, Rei merely smiled at Asuka as she drew back her reddened hand. Then she stepped forward. "We are required at headquarters immediately."

"What in the hell are you on about?" the redhead snarled, and then heard panting behind her. She quickly turned around and found Shinji behind her. "Sh- Shinji!"

"What is wrong with you Asuka?" the boy hissed, pointing to a blue Renault Alpine sliding across field. Turning away from Asuka with disgust, he shifted his attention towards Rei. "Come on, Rei. Let's go." The boy became silent, making his way towards the car with Rei trailing him not far behind, leaving Asuka on her own wondering just what she has done.

* * *

"Turn the alarm off, we already know that it's coming." Ritsuko watched as the claxons dulled to silence, replaced with the hum of activity around the command platform. Her eyes darted up towards the commanders perch above the platform. There sat a man, his auburn eyes stared out behind a pair of cold glass spectacles. The way he stared at the screen so calmly as everyone else cowered around him frightened the blonde doctor. He had always been cold, but now, he seemed somewhat… inhuman. 

Shaking the awkward feeling off that was slowly overcoming her, Ritsuko quickly shuffled behind Maya's monitor. "How's she doing, lieutenant Ibuki?"

The operator stammered, not expecting her superior officer to be standing behind her, but then quickly managed a response. "Asuka's synch ratio is phenomenal… much higher than her record states in Germany. It's as if… she's somebody else, ma'am."

"The point is that she's performing better than expected," Ritsuko asserted. "We'll keep her as backup for this operation."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ritsuko paused. "Maya, you almost seemed glad that I took her out of the front… mind telling me why."

The young lieutenant hummed something beneath her breath then pushed a button. A box expanded across her screen, revealing a Asuka with a troubled look on her face. Somewhat concerned, Ritsuko reached across the screen and fingered the audio trigger. "Asuka… is something bothering you?"

Suddenly, the girl looked up, slightly startled as a face boxed out across her HUD. "Doctor… Ri- Risoo- Ritsuko. Uh, no. I'm fine."

The doctor raised a brow. "Are you sure Asuka? If you're not up to the task-"

"I can do this!" she asserted forcefully, gnashing her teeth, her eyes suddenly beaming with determination. "I can do this, Ritsuko."

Ritsuko saw Asuka's eyes hardening with a resolve. "Alright, Asuka. You'll be staying here with Unit 02 on active standby for now."

"What?"

"Units 01 and 00 have already deployed to engage the angel… let's just hope that they can do the job."

The doctor's screen boxed out of existence, leaving Asuka to commiserate on her own. "Just what are these angels that I have to fight?" she growled to her self, slamming her fist against the titanium walls. Her fist left the wall, leaving a small indent on the steel and her knuckles glowing red. She stared at her hand for a second, the remembered the hand offered to her when she was down, and the smile on Rei's face. "Ayanami…"

* * *

Sheets of rain poured across the beach, bouncing harmlessly off Unit 01's reinforced armour. He could see the trees swaying in the wind across his HUD, but the only thing Shinji was focused on was the Rei's face at the bottom right corner of his screen. "That Asuka… what's wrong with her? She's usually nice, but when you're around she… becomes someone else." 

"Leave her be, pilot Ikari," the girl replied in a dry whisper.

"But she doesn't respect you, Rei. She shouldn't treat you the way she does."

"How she treats me is my concern, not yours." She looked away from her screen.

Shinji frowned, somewhat puzzled by Rei but let it pass. "Anyway, I saw your race, Rei. You deserved to win that one, you were really amazing."

The girl frowned. "Asuka hesitated at the start…"

"Well that's her fault."

Suddenly, Rei's eyes narrowed. "That is not a fair race, Shinji. She started a little later than I, and because I had a head start, I won instead of her."

"A win is a win, Rei. You take them anyway you can."

"But it is not…" Rei's gaze fell, "it is not… right."

Suddenly, Misato's face boxed across their screens. "You two! The angel has entered the zone of engagement! Begin your attack!"

* * *

Both Misato's and Rei's faces disappeared from Shinji's screen as he saw a shadow explode from the water in the distance, half hidden in the pouring rain. He then noticed the shadow splitting in two as two red orbs came to life. 

Soft footsteps echoed across the launch gantry as Asuka looked her red giant, face to face. "A creation not of heaven nor hell. A graven image… a false god for man to worship," she muttered, with unit 02 staring back at her with four deep sullen eyes. "you are… an abomination."

The red giant remained silent.

Asuka's eyes narrowed. "Just what do these humans need these things for? Are these humans really fighting angels? Am I really…. the enemy?" Her train of thought ground to a halt, frightened to answer her own questions, though it would certainly explain a lot, like why Shinji hated her so much, or why he aligns himself with Rei.

_No!_ she told herself. It couldn't be what she was thinking. Wanting to drown her thoughts, she thought about walking away when all of a sudden, a group of technicians began to scurry around the platform with anxious looks on their faces.

"I can't believe they used an N2 mine on that angel and only managed to slow it down."

"At least it managed that. Our Evas were beaten to a pulp. Unit 00 got out relatively unscathed… unit 01 on the other hand…"

"SHINJI!" gasped Asuka.

The technicians turned towards the voice, only to find the girl running away.

* * *

Her hand covered in patches, Rei couldn't help but stare into the only window looking into the intensive care unit. The young boy lay unconscious amidst an array of machines, barely keeping him alive. He had nearly died, she knew. That thing had nearly killed them. 

Suddenly, Rei heard hurried footsteps down the corridor. She turned and found Asuka, still in her plug suit, dashing towards her.

"Rei!" she gasped, stopping just in front of her, "Rei! Is Shinji alright?"

The girl shook her head. "Shinji has sustained moderate injuries from the engagement. He will not be able fight for at least a week."

"How?" Asuka gasped breathlessly. "How could you let this happen to him?"

"We were overwhelmed," she replied, "They… the angels…. Attacked me first, neutralizing Unit 00 before they engaged Unit 01. Pilot Ikari… Shinji, was completed overwhelmed."

Upon the verge of tears, the young redhead shoved Rei aside as she peered into the room. "Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't know."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?"

"She means exactly that." Both girls shifted their attentions towards the source, finding Gendo Ikari at the far end of the corridor with Ritsuko and Misato at his sides. The steps came in sharp, loud footsteps, halting a short distance from the pair. "Pilots Ikari and Ayanami failed to destroy the angel, and as a consequence suffered injuries to themselves and their Evas. NERV faced humiliation as the UN succeeded where we failed at halting the angel's progress. We will not face this humiliation a second time."

At this, Ritsuko stepped forward. "We have calculated that the angel will recover in approximately 7 days time, at which point, it will commence its attack on Tokyo-3. Unit 01, on the other hand, has sustained moderate damage. Repairs will take at least 3 weeks."

"What about Shinji?"

Ritsuko's sinking stature was not reassuring. "Shinji will make a full recovery in approximately a month if he does not exert himself."

"Which leads us to our main point," said Misato as she walked over towards the girls. "Will the both of you please follow me?"

Both girls nodded.

Misato continued down the corridor with both girls following not far behind. "We have analyzed the angel's attack patterns and determined that the only way to defeat it is to coordinate a synchronized attack on both the angel's cores."

"Wait a second," Asuka said, "are you talking about one enemy or two?"

Wincing, Misato turned down a hallway. "We are talking about one angel capable of splitting itself in two targets, alpha and beta. That was how it was able to defeat our Eva's attacks. One core was able to heal the other, so as long as one of the two cores were intact at any one time, the angel was able to regenerate itself. But we have a plan to counter this. We plan for the both of you to attack both cores at the same time. Unit 00 will be fully repaired before the angels completely recovers, so that gives us a week of preparation."

"Captain Katsuragi," Rei interrupted, "what preparation do you speak of?"

Finally, Misato smiled as she stopped in front of a room, pressing a key to open the doors. Inside was a pair of beds, a common television set, sound system, coffee table and a hallway that lead into a common bathroom. "We need the both of you to be able to work in complete synchronization with each other and to achieve this harmony within the allotted time, we need the both of you to eat, sleep, work and play together."

"W-WHAT?" Asuka stammered in disbelief.

Misato smiled brightly. "In short, you girls will be living together for a week." She reached into a pocket and threw Rei a cassette tape. "Ritsuko said that learning a few steps together can help start the process so…" she pushed both girls into the room, "have fun! Everything you need is inside."

Asuka quickly turned around and was about to complain to Misato when the doors slid shut in front of her. "Hey!" she screamed, banging heavily upon the steel frames. "Let us out! You can't do this to us!"

Rei quickly scanned the door for a control panel. "There is no way out."

"Oh yeah?" Asuka snorted. She stretched her hand out, about to summon her blade to cut a swathe through the doors when all of a sudden, Rei lunged at her, pinning her to the ground. Asuka desperately tried to shake the girl off her when all of a sudden-

"You cannot let them know." Rei pointed to a camera mounted on the ceiling.

Asuka stared at the camera for a second before sighing resignedly. She had no choice but to do what she is told. She had to do this… for Shinji. She was about to accept her situation when she noticed that Rei's body was still pressing down upon hers, her face lingering a short distance above her own. "GET OFF ME!" screamed Asuka, violently throwing Rei off her. "We don't have to know each other that close!"

Rei quickly picked herself and watched as Asuka stormed off into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. She then looked at her fingers which touched Asuka's bare skin. Her face glowed a bright shade of pink. _Asuka… so warm… and soft… and fragile…ten thousand years I have waited to feel your touch again. I will make you remember me. I promise you… _

_...my love._

* * *

To be continued

* * *

A/N: Yes, that last bit was from the manga. 


	7. Broken Wings

**

* * *

**

Heaven Sent  
**By crimsonwraith**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Broken Wings**

For three days and three nights, the winds howled in its endless symphony of horror, of crashing thunder and beating rain. To Kaoru, it almost seemed like an encore from the days of Noah: a dark omen of what to expect of days to come. The young man stared out from the pane of glass, eyeing the darkened horizon lit by arcs of lightning across the sky. The earth below seemed desolate beneath the outpouring of the heavens, hidden behind caves of steel and concrete.

He winced, an ominous feeling settled upon the pit of his stomach. He hadn't seen Asuka since she was taken away some three days ago. Rei and Shinji also disappeared around that time. Something was definitely wrong, but what? He had searched their apartments the day before and found them empty. Nobody seemed to have seen them since the track meet three days before. It was as if they fell off from the edge of the earth.

No, Kaoru thought, for some reason, he knew that Rei would not have killed Asuka, even if they were on opposite sides to a war. Kaoru didn't trust the words of a demon, but there was something in her deep crimson eyes, a distant pain that has begun to surface that told him that she would sooner die than betray Asuka.

Sighing dejectedly, Kaoru fell back into his seat. "Asuka…" His body shivered at the mention of her name. "Asuka…" He could still feel her hair against his skin: red they were, like blood. This powerful angel had become as fragile as the humans that she was sent to protect, and yet she had gained something from her humanity that made her stronger than any angel he knew.

She knew how to love. And, though he wasn't sure of himself, he knew that he was learning to love as well.

* * *

"R- Rei…" 

"Asuka..."

"Put you hand-"

"Over here?" Rei responded, placing her long slender fingers upon the crest of Asuka's neck. She felt Asuka tremble, moaning as Rei's fingers wrapped around her neck, but then slowly gave way as she brought their faces closer. She felt her breath upon her skin: warm and gently caressing the curves of her cheek.

Asuka, in turn, brought an arm around Rei's waist and pulled her towards her, their bodies now pressing firmly upon each other. Slowly, her free hand reached for Rei's own, their fingering interlacing over each other in a firm contact. She closed her eyes a final time, unsure of what was going to happen next.

"Asuka," Rei whispered into her ear, "you have to trust me."

"I- I know," she managed, "I mean… I do." Slowly, the girl resigned herself to Rei's hands. "Let's do this… Rei…"

The blue haired girl gave her a knowing nod, then gently began. Both girls moved so elegantly around the room, matching movement with movement, complementing each other where the other fell short as they became one in mind and movement. Suddenly, as they reached the peak, Rei's grip slackened, sending Asuka tumbling across the room into a heap in the corner.

"Asuka, are you alright?"

"WALTZ MY ASS!" growled Asuka. "THAT'S THE FOURTH TIME TODAY!"

Rei quickly bent over to help her comrade, but the threatening look on her face warned her to stay away. Asuka slowly levered herself off the floor and a large bruise on her shoulder. Rei quickly dashed towards the mini bar at the foot of their television set, tossing Asuka a cold can of lemonade. "Place that against your shoulder."

Asuka caught skillfully caught the can in one hand and placed it on her bruise, but her frown remained. "This isn't going to work. Maybe we should tell them, at least they can come up with a new strategy."

Rei shook her head. "You give up too easily, Asuka. You always have."

"Excuse me?" Her tone sharpened to a razor's edge.

Rei reached into the fridge and fetched herself her own can, snapping ring-tab open and gulping down half a can of lemonade. "Back then, when Shinji invited me for dinner at your apartment, you didn't even fight for Shinji. You gave him up… for me."

Asuka winced inwardly. "I… I didn't give him up-"

"Then you gave him to me again when you tended to Kaoru-"

Suddenly, Asuka's cobalt eyes burned. "Kaoru was wounded; I had to take care of him."

"Even if heaven burns because of this?" challenged Rei.

"You don't get it do you? What is the point of heaven if you can't even save the people you care about?"

An awkward silence fell upon the two, with neither girl willing to break the silence. The tension was highly strung. Finally, Asuka broke beneath the tension.

"I'm going to take a bath," she muttered, walking away, leaving Rei on her own.

* * *

_"I'm going to take a bath."_

"Looks like she's giving up again," Ritsuko concluded, turning the screen off. "Maybe she's right. Maybe we should come up with a new plan of engagement."

Misato retracted on her seat, smiling to herself. "It's interesting to watch though…"

"Captain! At the very least, respect their privacy-"

"Not like that!" Misato whined. "I mean, the way they act… it's almost as if they're complete polar opposites." She looked up, finding Ritsuko shocked. "Well, Rei seems to be very persistent whereas Asuka gives up at the first sign of resistance. Rei also seems to be calculating whereas Asuka is more of the spontaneous kind."

"I see what you mean…" concurred Ritsuko, sitting up. "I must admit, you're more observant than I thought. If you were as observant with other things, you would have made Vice Commander by now."

Scoffing out loud, Misato leaned back further, stretching her arms out lazily overhead. "I couldn't care less about power."

"Oh really? Then what are you really aiming for, Captain Katsuragi?"

Misato smirked. "You have to aim high, Ri- chan… I aim for heaven itself."

* * *

Later that evening… 

"NOO!" screamed Asuka, shooting up from her bed covered in beads of sweat. Her breathing slowly deepened as her heart slowed within her chest, but she could still hear Rei's voice echoing in her ears.

_She has your smile… my love…_

"I can't let that happen," she mumbled to herself.

Suddenly, she heard a rustle in the darkness. "What won't you let happen?" Rei's voice responded in the dark.

Asuka sighed. "No- nothing," she replied despondently, sinking back into bed, feeling the cold touch of sweat upon her back. "Rei… why are you trying to help me?"

"To defeat the enemy," she replied flatly. "The purpose of this exercise to harmonize our movements to destroy the enemy's co-"

"That's not what I meant," Asuka asserted quickly, pouting. "Why did you tell me my weaknesses, Rei? You seem to know a lot about me… just who are you Rei?"

"Get some rest, Asuka. You will need your strength for tomorrow."

Asuka hardened her expression. "Don't change the subject, Rei! I don't know why you know so much about me, but if you want me to work with you, you have to tell me just who you are."

"And what good will that do you?"

Asuka paused for a second. "Nothing I guess…"

For the second time that day, a long silence fell between the girl. Asuka looked over towards Rei: her crimson eyes seemed to glow in the night, staring blankly at the ceiling. They seemed cold, lifeless orbs, mysterious.

Then finally, Rei responded. "I will tell you a fairy tale, Asuka, if it means that you will go to sleep…" she breathed deeply, as if ridding herself of a deep burden, then breathed out. "Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was war in heaven, fought by angels against other angels. Lucifer, the Morning Star, led a great many angels in revolt against heaven to claim the throne of god for himself. Countless angels perished in the conflict, but in the end, Lucifer was defeated. He and all those who aligned themselves with him were banished to hell. However, they were not the only ones."

Asuka's eyes slowly began to waver.

"During the war, an angel was saved by another angel. It might have been admiration at first, but that admiration grew to love, and angels were not meant to love another angel. One day, this angel was visited by Metatron with a command, to kill the angel that had saved her. She was devastated at the news, but she knew that she had to do it. It was her duty to obey. However, just as she was about to kill the very angel that had saved her in the war, she learned that she couldn't bring herself to kill her, and for this, she was banished from heaven to spend eternity in hell… she was banished for loving another."

A tear ran down Rei's cheeks. "It has been ten thousand years, Asuka… do you still remember me?"

"Zzzzzzzzz"

"?" Her eyes shifted towards Asuka's bed and found the girl fast asleep. Despite this, Rei smiled to herself as she closed her eyes. "Ten thousand years is nothing… if I can be with you again, my love."

* * *

"Battle Stations, Level 1!" Ritsuko's voice boomed from the P.A. system. 

Both girls quickly rose from their beds amidst claxons and red lights flashing. Suddenly the doors slid open as Misato ran in with a frantic look on her face. "Rei! Asuka! We have to go now!"

"Wha-" Asuka mumbled, still half asleep, "what's going on?"

Gnashing her teeth, Misato quickly grabbed Asuka by the arm and dragged her out of bed. "The angel regenerated faster than anticipated. It has begun its approach on Tokyo-3. We've got no time left."

"But!" Asuka stammered, pulling herself up to her feet as the three dashed down the maze like hallways of NERV. "We haven't synchronized with each other."

"It doesn't matter. You just have to do what you can to stop that thing."

Rei paced quickly behind the two. "However, you said that the only way to defeat the enemy is by synchronizing our attacks."

"It's not as if we have a choice now do we?" countered Misato, then paused, turning sharply towards Rei, eyeing her and Asuka in turn. "For the sake of humanity, I hope that you two can just get along."

* * *

"Now!" Asuka screamed as Unit 02 matched Unit 00's kick to the abdomen, both blows easily deflected by the angel. Unfazed by the miss, both Evangelions continued their synchronized attack, kick for kick, punch for punch, all landing on nothing but air. It almost seemed as if the angel could anticipate all their attacks. 

Panting heavily and deeply demoralized, Asuka threw a sidewards glance at Unit 00. "Are we doing anything to it?"

"Keep attacking," hissed Rei between gnashed teeth. "We have been training for three days straight, Misato said that this was going to work."

Suddenly, the angel split into two identical shapes, catching both Asuka and Rei off guard both delivered a swift kick to their abdomen. Both units 00 and 02 were sent crashing through a column of buildings in a tangled mess.

"Guah…" Asuka gasped, coughing a mist of blood, diluting into the LCL. Struggling to keep an eye on the screen, Asuka found the pair of angels slowly pacing to finish them off. Her muscles ached terribly, but she managed to push herself back up to her knees. "This… this isn't going to work. We have to retreat."

She saw the blue unit struggle to stand up, its legs trembling beneath its wake. Rei's face then stretched across the screen. "Y- you give up too easily… Asuka… all we need to do is… work together."

"But we have been working together-"

"No," Rei cut in. "Fighting as one will not work… we are different people… we have to fight our own fights. Do you understand?"

Asuka paused, taking a long heartbeat to take in what Rei had said. All of a sudden, a beam of light exploded from both angels' eyes. Everything caught in the beam disintegrated in the searing heat: glass, concrete, steel. Everything. As the light subsided, all that was left the smoldering remains of a city. Both Evas were gone.

Or so they thought.

The ground beneath the pair of angels darkened as Unit 02 descended upon the two, its pallet rifle barrel pointed at them. "EAT LEAD!" she screamed as she rained explosive shells upon the angels.

Amidst the hail of explosives, emerged from a group of buildings, training her rifle upon the backs of the angels. "Beginning attack!" Her rifle exploded in a rattle of explosions as tracer rounds that slamming against the pair of angels. Then, the gunfire halted as Unit 02 slammed its heels against both the angels head, knocking them into each other, merging them as one before Asuka delivered a furious punch to its core, cracking the crimson surface and sending the angel flying through a few buildings, buried beneath piles of ruble.

"Good work, Asuka!" Rei called over, rushing towards the fallen angel with rifle in hand. "I'll take it from here."

"NO! REI!"

All of a sudden, Rei streams of light filtered through the melting ruble. And then with a blinding light, she knew it was too late. Too late to jump out of the way, let alone scream. All she felt was a searing heat and a sharp pain at her side before she fell to the ground, for some reason, relatively unharmed. Puzzled, she opened her eyes to find that her Unit 00 was lying flat on the floor. She quickly pushed herself up, looking back in shock.

There, amidst the ruins of what once were buildings lay what seemed to be Unit 02, several layers of armour melted away. "Asuka!" Rei screamed, desperately to contact her, but she managed to get was static. "Asuka! Please respond!" When she didn't Rei's desperation turned into anger as Unit 00's gaze shifted towards the angel emerging from the ruble on the far end of the city. "You…. YOU!" In a blinding rage, Rei picked up her rifle and began to move in for the kill.

The angel responded, splitting into two and began to open fire upon the blue demon. This time, Rei responded, weaving through the beams as if they weren't there as she continued her way towards the angels. "DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!" she screamed as Unit 00 ducked beneath a beam before shoving the rifle into the angel's core, right the other angel's core and pulled the trigger. Both angels shook as volleys upon volleys of shells tore through the guts of both angels, then stood still as the gun fell silent, replaced with the sickening squelch as the angels slid from the barrel and fell to the floor dead.

But Rei didn't have time to celebrate, her mind focused on one thing, or rather, one person. "Asuka…"

* * *

Despite the lamentations of her scorched hands, Rei finally managed to force open Asuka's hatch. Inside, the young girl lay motionlessly. That was when she realized it… Asuka wasn't breathing. "No!" Rei quickly jumped inside, placing her hands upon her Asuka's heart between her breasts and began to push down. "One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand…." She quickly moved over to Asuka, pinching her nose, sealed her lips with her own and breathed into her. 

Her chest rose and fell and nothing more.

Rei desperately placed her hand on Rei's heart and began to push harder. "Asuka… please Asuka… don't die. I can't lose you… not again." For the second time, Rei moved over head and placed her lips over Asuka's, only to feel the girl jerking up, coughing LCL into her mouth. Rei quickly pulled back. Asuka was alive.

Her lungs felt like fire, but any feeling was better than not feeling at all. She coughed the last of the LCL out of her lungs… then noticed Rei staring down at her with a smile upon her face. "Rei… you… saved me? Why?"

A tear rolled down the contours of her cheek. "Asuka, you fool," she sobbed happily, "I couldn't let you die…"

Asuka raised a puzzled brow. "B-but why? If you didn't save me, heaven could have been yours."

"You fool," she muttered, wiping her tears from her eyes. "Don't you understand? What is the point of heaven if you can't even save the people you care about?"

The redhead fell silent, taken aback by the suddenness of Rei's words, almost unsure of what to make of it. Finally, after several heartbeats, Asuka warmed a smile. "Rei…"

"ASUKA! REI!" a voice screamed from outside amidst the growing sirens of ambulances. Suddenly she paused, finding the two staring at each other, smiling at each other, charming a smile across her own face. "Now, Rei… it is time for you to choose…"

* * *

The door read 303, noted Rei. She peered through the glass and found two familiar people inside, both were fast asleep. On one side of the room, Shinji lay by the window overlooking the green canopies of the geofront below. The machinery that kept him alive four days ago were gone, along with most of his wounds. The only signs of his injuries were the patches around his arms and legs. She was told that he was coming home that night. 

Asuka, on the other hand, was treated for heat stroke and shock. Her physician assured Rei that Asuka should be able to return home by the next day. She would see the both Rei and Shinji in school in the morning. Knowing this, Rei was about to walk away when a shadow fell over her.

"Rei Ayanami," Gendo began in an ominous tone. "Tell me, Rei… just who are you after? Are you pursuing Shinji, or are you chasing after Asuka?"

She shuddered at his tone, but remained silent.

"I gave you three days, Rei. You could have killed Asuka in three days… we wouldn't have to worry about her now."

"She is injured, my Lord… she could not possibly pose a threa-"

_W H A C K_

The girl collapsed onto the linoleum, her right cheek bright red as Gendo returned his fist to his side. "If you cannot eliminate the competition, Rei, then I will."

"MY LORD, NO!" begged Rei, reaching for his jacket.

The man clenched a fist and was about to strike the girl a second time, then his hand froze in mid air, trembling in fear. Standing between him and the door was none other than Captain Misato Katsuragi, a dry smirk was upon her face. "Restrain yourself," she ordered in a threatening tone.

Gendo gnashed his teeth. "How dare you speak to me like that?" Infuriated, the demon then extended a hand out at Misato, his palm turning a deep scarlet.

Without warning, Misato's eyes suddenly flashed white, her long purple hair bleeding red. "SILENCE!" she beamed. All of a sudden, Gendo was flung across the hallway, smashing against the concrete wall on the far end of the hallway, crumpling like a rag doll on the floor. Misato slowly began to make her way towards the fallen demon, but eyeing Rei for a brief moment, then returned her attention towards him.

Gendo painfully forced himself up, drawing a blade from thin air. "Who- who are you?" he snarled. "Do you know what is at stake here?"

"I SAID **SILENCE**!" roared Misato, her eyes burning a scintillating white.

Gendo suddenly tensed, the blade slipping from his grip onto the tiles with an audible clang. He writhed in agony as he was lifted in mid-air, his clothes visibly tightening around him. Blood began to seep through his lips as his organs were beginning to be crushed under the pressure.

"Arch demon," Misato boomed, her voice becoming demonic. "How dare you disobey your master."

Gendo's eyes widened behind his glasses. "M-master? I have no master other than- ARGH!" Sounds of bones breaking was drowned by agonized screams.

"You will not lay a finger on Asuka," she ordered, stopping just short of Gendo's writhing form. "And if you touch Rei again… I swear… I will banish you back to the darkest realms of hell where you will be tortured day and night for eternity. Do you understand?"

Gendo struggled, but managed to nod his head. Suddenly, he fell to his feet, greedily gasping for air, all the while eyeing the Captain.

Slowly, Misato's eyes returned from white to dark brown as her hair darkened to purple. A smile slowly came across her face as she turned her attention towards Rei who still sat on the floor with a horrified expression. Misato paced up to the girl and offered her a hand. "Are you alright, Rei?"

Puzzled, the girl unknowingly grasped her hand and pulled herself up. "L- Lucifer?"

"I prefer Misato," chirped the woman. "Is that alright with you, Rei?"

The girl managed a nod. "Of course, M- Captain Katsuragi."

The woman sighed, shrugging to herself. "Close enough," she threw an arm around Rei's shoulder and lead her back to the window looking into the room. "Asuka… she's quite a girl, isn't she? I know that you saved her life just then, but only because she pushed you out of harms way, taking the bullet herself… so to say."

"She… she did?"

"Of course she did. But this wouldn't be the first time she saved you, isn't that right?"

The girl coiled up. "N-no… how do you know?"

Misato chuckled. "It's alright, Rei. I don't care about your intentions for that girl… what I am concerned about though is your mission. You seem to be losing focus of Shinji in your quest to be reunited with Asuka... You do know what is at stake is, don't you?"

"Of course, Captain."

"Then you can understand why I need you to focus on your mission."

"But if I succeed, I cannot be with Asuka… she will burn in hell while I watch in heaven."

"Don't worry," Misato assured her, "if you conceives his child, I promise you, you can have your precious Asuka in heaven. She will not burn… however," Misato's expression suddenly darkened, "if you continue to pursue Asuka, I will kill her myself. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Rei?"

Rei closed her eyes and gnashed her teeth. "Of course…"

* * *

Kaoru checked his watch for the tenth time that evening. It was 2 o'clock in the morning. He had been waiting outside Asuka's apartment for ten hours now. The steamed buns that he had prepared to give her for lunch had long gotten cold in the plastic bag in his hand. He knew that he should have left a long time ago, but he needed to know that she was fine. That no harm came upon her. There were so many thoughts going through his mind, thoughts that he had never thought about in ten thousand years. 

Such as why was he acting so irrationally? Why was he so desperate to make sure that the Asuka was fine? Why didn't he just wait for school tomorrow to meet her? Questions that he can't find answers for himself. Sighing defeatedly, Kaoru began to reconsider his reasons for staying when all of a sudden, a familiar face emerged from the stairwell to the apartment.

"Kaoru?" Shinji began with a raised brow as he searched his pocket for the keys to the apartment. "What are you doing here so late?"

The boy smiled, glad to have finally found somebody. "Both you and Asuka haven't been at school for four days now. I was concerned that something might have happened."

"Something did happen," mumbled Shinji. "Kaoru, if you're waiting for Asuka, you will see her at school tomorrow."

"Then," Kaoru stepped forward, offering the boy his plastic bag, "can you give this to her?"

Hesitantly, Shinji accepted the bag and eyed the contents. "Steamed buns?"

Kaoru nodded. "It's gotten cold, but if you heat it up, it should be alright."

"Uh… thanks… I guess," Shinji managed, his gaze falling. "You know… Asuka is really lucky to have someone as loyal as you… to have someone always thinking of you…"

"N-no!" Kaoru cut in, his face turning a bride shade of red. "You've got it wrong, Shinji! I'm not Asuka's boyfriend… I'm just her friend, and friends look out for each other."

"Uh… I guess so…" Shinji's heart fell.

Kaoru noticed Shinji's tone. "You might not know it, but there are people looking out for you."

The boy scoffed. "Who? Rei? She can't even see that I care about her..."

"But that doesn't mean that nobody else cares for you, Shinji. Your guardian loves you very much Shinji."

Shinji rolled his eyes back. "Yeah… like she really shows it."

_You got me there,_ thought Kaoru, quickly thinking up something else. "You might not know it, Shinji, but Asuka cares for you. That's why she's trying to learn how to cook, that's why she is trying so hard to impress you."

"I don't want anybody to impress me," shouted Shinji. "I just… I just want someone to be there for me." He clenched a fist as he was about to storm into the apartment when a hand grabbed him by the arm and spun him around forcefully.

Kaoru hardened his expression as his grip tightened around the boy's arm. "You don't understand, do you? People do care about you, Shinji. Rei cares about you, Misato cares about you, even Asuka cares about you Shinji. We all do…"

Finally, the grey haired boy's grip slackened as he walked away, disappearing down the stairwell. Shinji stared at his hand for a second, hearing the echo's of Kaoru's voice in his head. … _even Asuka cares about you Shinji. We all do_… slowly, a smile spread itself across his lips as he reached for the panel, closing the door shut. "Kaoru…"

* * *

To be continued

* * *

A/N: He he he! Aren't I an evil bugger? 


	8. Opposite Attraction

Author's notes:  
When you see author's notes at the very top, you know that there's going to be something weird. Yes, this is my second update in a week, why? Because I just got some very good results from uni, I've watched a whole bunch of anime and I'm stoked up to the eyes in sugar and caffeine. The first few chapters were pretty serious… now it's time for some craziness.

You have been warned.

* * *

**Heaven Sent  
**By crimsonwraith

* * *

Chapter 7?

**_Opposite Attraction_**

After four days of pouring rain, the clouds began to part as the golden rays of the sun shone upon the city. Facing away from the sun on the western side of Mt Fukayama, Tokyo-3 provincial High School watched as children began to once again ascend upon its steps. Most of them wondered about the special bomb evacuation conducted the day before, just as well that they did thought others as they threw a glance into the city. Several blocks had been razed to ruble as if a war had taken place upon their sanctuary.

Grinding to a halt upon the curb of the footpath in front of the school, Misato shifted gear to neutral as she pulled the hand brake, throwing a sidewards glance at downcast boy. "Hey Shinji… don't worry; Asuka's going to be fine. She's just going to need another day of rest. Doctor Ritsuko's orders." Her words seemed to comfort him slightly as he forced a smile. "Why are you so worried about her?

"I- I just am," Shinji said assertively.

Misato's eyes widened as she sat up on her seat. "Could it possibly be because you have a _crush_ on her?"

The boy froze for a second, stunned at Misato's suggestion. Then he managed an exasperated look as he turned to Misato. "NO!" he shrieked. "It's just- Kaoru's been waiting for a week to see her now, and I promised him that he could see her today."

Misato lifted a brow. "Sounds like you've got some competition for Asuka's love."

"_MISATO_!" Wanting to save himself from humiliating himself even more, Shinji quickly opened the door and jumped outside, slinging a bag over his shoulder. "Anyway, I'll see you soon."

"Alright Shinji… oh, and if you see this Kaoru guy, make sure you beat him up."

Shinji swung the door shut. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because… he might take Asuka away from you." Misato savored the boy's infuriated reaction as she shifted into gear and sped off, leaving a scintillating haze, the smell of burnt rubber and a furious boy in her wake.

Shinji shook his head. He began to walk to the entrance when he saw Rei walking up to him. His mood lifted at once. "Rei!"

She managed a curt nod. "Good morning, Pilot Ikari. Is… Asuka alright?"

This threw Shinji off for a second. She calls him by his surname, while at the same time addressing Asuka in her first. "Yeah… she's just resting at our place."

Rei allowed a across her lips. "That's good to hear…" suddenly, she remembered something. "Uh... have you also recovered?"

Taken aback, the boy could only manage a nod.

Rei forced a smile. "Then… would it be fine if we could watch a movie later this afternoon? I heard that the new horror movie is particularly satisfactory."

_Rei… watching a horror movie?_ Shinji took another moment for the concept to sink in his head. "Sure… after school, I guess. Um, can we look for Kaoru? Maybe he'd like to watch it too."

Then Rei paused, not expecting Shinji to mention the angel's name. "If you wish to…"

In the second floor, Kaoru stared down at the two, shaking his head. "Asuka… where the hell are you?" He narrowed his gaze as he grabbed his bag and left the class room just as the bell rang for class.

* * *

_T H U D!_

_T H U D!_

_T H UD!_

"Asuka! Asuka are you there? Answer me if you're there!"

Suddenly, Kaoru heard a sound, someone screaming in sheer terror. Gnashing his teeth, the boy stepped back as he reached out, drawing out his blade from the ether. "Hold Asuka! I'm coming for you!" His blade swung in a wide arc, slashing the steel panels clean in half and kicking them down. Kaoru then dashed inside, his eyes scanning for danger, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword. He crept down the hallway and, very slowly, opened the sliding door, then paused.

Sitting up on her bed, Asuka eyed the boy strangely. "Kaoru… what are you doing here?"

He quickly turned around, stammering. "I heard you scream…"

"Oh that," she mumbled, shaking her head, "I… I just had a nightmare. No big deal." She began to sit up, her sheets slipping away to reveal that she didn't wear anything beneath her sheets, but she didn't cover up, instead, throwing a puzzling look over to Kaoru. "I thought angels don't think about that kind of things."

"W- we don't," Kaoru stammered unconvincingly. "I'm not thinking about that. I'm just… respecting your privacy."

"Whatever." Asuka quickly got out of bed and walked over to her drawer, searching for something to wear. "Anyway, you haven't answered my question, Kaoru. What are you doing here?"

"I should ask the same thing," he shot back over his shoulder. "While you're here resting, Rei invited Shinji out to a horror movie."

Asuka scoffed dryly as she pulled up panties. "Oh yeah… _really _romantic. Now he _has _to make love to her."

Kaoru crossed his arms. "You don't get it, Asuka. Horror movies are meant to scare people."

"Tell me something I don't know," she growled, slipping on a pair of jeans.

"Girls are supposed to be really scared of these movies."

Asuka laughed as she strapped on her bra, "Now that's stating the obvious…"

Kaoru sniggered. "Just whose arm do you think Rei will grab when she gets scared…"

The girl fell deathly silent, pausing with t-shirt halfway over her head. A moment later, Asuka quickly slipped it over her head, grabbed Kaoru and eyed him sharply. "What time does the movie start?"

He smiled as he handed her two tickets to a horror flick. "After school… I think that you're going to need my help on this…"

* * *

_Strange_, Shinji thought as he threw another look over his shoulder at all the couples lined up to watch the horror movie. The boys looked oblivious as their girls hung closely by their arms. As to why, he hadn't had a clue, but for some reason, he had a lingering feeling that Rei did. 

"Popcorn, sir."

Roused by the voice of the attendant, Shinji returned his attention to the front, handing the man two bills then grabbing his huge box of popcorn. "Uh, thanks." He threw a glance over his shoulder, offering the box to his blue haired companion. "Would you like to have some, Rei?"

Her face turned from pale to pink. "Th- thank you." She quickly reached into the box and popped a few kernels into her mouth.

The boy's face also brightened a few shades of red as they began to make their way into the cinema. The entry was packed full of young couples, but then he noticed a familiar grey haired boy with a red haired girl standing out from the crowd mainly black and brown haired crowd like a sore thumb. "No way!" he gasped, quickly weaving through the crowd forcing Rei to follow him.

"Remember," a grey haired boy said into her ear, "feminine, alright?"

Suddenly, Asuka felt a hand tap her shoulder. She quickly spun around and, unsurprisingly, found Shinji standing there. "Oh, hi Shinji!"

The boy growled. "Don't _oh, hi Shinji_ me, Asuka. You're supposed to be at home resting."

"Really feminine," Kaoru hissed into her ear.

Suddenly, Asuka pouted, her blue eyes quivering as if about to cry. "Oh, Shin-chan! You such a meanie, nyuu," she whined, childishly twirling her hair with one finger. "I can't stay home aw day… dat's booowing, nyuu. And besides, I'm not going to huyt myself watching a movie, nyuu."

(see author's notes at the end)

Kaoru, Shinji and Rei suddenly became silent, wondering why Asuka was acting so strange. Shinji raised a brow. "Asuka, are you alright?"

"Perhaps she has ingested too much valium?" Rei thought out loud.

Kaoru quickly grabbed Asuka by the collar and hissed something over her ears. "What are you _doing_, Asuka? I said feminine, not doped up on cocaine."

"But… that's what feminine girls do on the TV," Asuka protested.

"GAAH! Just… just…" Kaoru paused, his vein throbbing on his forehead as he searched for a word, his expression then becoming downcast as he sighed in defeat. "Just do whatever Rei, does, okay?" He paused, feeling a tap on his shoulder. He quickly turned to face Shinji with a wide smile. "Uh, yes Shinji."

He pointed to the entrance, now flooded with patrons walking in. "Looks like we can go in now. Would you guys like to sit with us?"

"Oh! I can't," Kaoru replied, viciously shaking his head, "I've got clean up duty at school later today… I just wanted to make sure that Asuka got here alright…" he stopped, now smiling widely at Asuka. "Okay, you take care now Asuka."

Before she could protest, Kaoru bolted away, disappearing into the crowd leaving her on her own and confused. Then she saw Shinji and Rei waiting patiently for her.

"Asuka, let's go in now." Shinji said.

She threw a quick glance at Rei and remembered Kaoru's advice as she looked at Shinji. "Understood…"

* * *

Shinji lurched in his seat as he watched the monster crawl upon its broken victim, licking her blood drenched neck with its mutated tongue. The hapless girl could only manage to close her eyes as the monster opened its deformed double maw. 

"_Oishii…**OISHIII!**"_

"_IYAAAAA-"_

Her voice fell silent, cut short by a sickening squelch as the beast sank its teeth through her neck, erupting in a fount of crimson. All of a sudden, Shinji's ears were filled with icy shrieks as both girls screamed at his sides, both trembling as they clenched their arms. Suddenly, all of his fear melted into confusion, wondering just why both these girls who fought against enemies a thousand times more frightening than this monster were scared. "Hey," he whispered, "are you girls alright?"

Neither girl replied, holding Shinji's arms closer still. Suddenly, his face filled with red as he felt something supple warm and supple in his both his hands, quickly drawing them back and crossing them over his chest.

A few rows back, Kaoru was more interested in the trio than the film, eyeing them in the darkness. Though he didn't know what to make of their stalemate between Asuka and Rei, he smiled, knowing that Asuka was doing the best that she can. Then, for some reason or another, he saw Shinji stand up, straight as a bolt and left the two as he walked out of the movie room. "Just where do you think you're going," he swore, quickly chasing after him, "I better follow him…"

Meanwhile, Rei and Asuka continued to watch the film with an empty seat between them. Just then, the monster dropped out of nowhere and caught another school girl into a corner of the haunted house. She stepped back, only to find herself reversing into a wall. Her became dire as the monster stepped closer, raising its massive claw high into the air.

"_Ya- Yamete…" _

"Oishii… **OISHII!**"

_S H I N G K _

Asuka screamed, reaching out to her side and grabbing an arm. "Shinji! I'm scared!" she muttered, pretending to tremble.

"Ungh!"

The girl paused, noticing the whimper was not a boy's. Slowly, her head creaked to her side, freezing. In her arms was not Shinji, but rather a trembling Rei. As quickly she can, Asuka pushed her away in disgust. "Just what the hell are you doing?" she whispered.

Rei's bright red face fell. "N- nothing…"

Asuka quickly got up and left.

She squinted as she opened the door, the bright light contrasting the darkness inside the cinema. Asuka quickly walked down the carpet towards the exit, when all of a sudden, she heard a scream.

"NOOO!"

The voice sounded like Kaoru's, but it wasn't coming from within the theatre, Asuka thought as she scanned the room, finding that the scream had come from the men's room. Her heart began to race as she ran towards the door…

* * *

Kaoru pushed the wooden frame to the men's room, scanning the proximity and found Shinji by the wash basins, washing his hands. He sighed in relief and was about to walk out when- 

"Kaoru?"

The boy reacted quickly, spinning around and throwing his hand to the back of his neck. "Shinji! What a co-incidence! I got to school and guess what? All the cleaning was done. Sensei Yamaguchi said that I could go home, so I went to check up on Asuka if she's alright-"

Shinji stepped closer with a worried look on his face. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that."

Kaoru stopped, blinking twice in confusion. "About… Asuka?"

"Yeah," Shinji said with a quick nod. "I was just wondering… do you know why she's been acting weird lately?"

Kaoru grinned widely. "That crazy Asuka… who knows just what she's thinking."

"But… you seem to know her very well, Kaoru… but now that I think about it… you seem to know a lot about everybody."

_Damn it! Does he know that I'm an angel? _He quickly shook the thought from his head. "Uh, I just want to make sure that everyone's okay."

Shinji smiled. "I thought so too… hey, you're not going out with Asuka, are you?"

He shook his head. "I've already told you, Shinji. We're just friends…" he stopped to think why he is asking, then it came to him. _Asuka did it! He wants to ask her out! _"Shinji! You should tell the one that you love about your feelings. I'm sure that they feel the same way about you.

Shinji looked up with a surprised look on his face. "Really?"

"Of course!" Kaoru affirmed. "I'm sure of it."

Without a moment's hesitation, Shinji looked up and smiled at him. "Kaoru…"

"Yeah?"

"I- I…" he stammered, his heart racing in his chest.

"You what, Shinji!"

Gathering the last drop of confidence within, Shinji just came out and said it. "I love you!"

"Wha-" Kaoru face turned blank.

Shinji began to approach him. "Kaoru… ever since you told me that you cared for me last night, I couldn't stop thinking why I felt so wrong with Asuka and Rei. Then it hit me. They don't care about me the same way as you."

Kaoru stepped back, only to stop, finding a wall behind him. "You've got me all wrong, Shinji," he stammered nervously.

All of a sudden, Shinji placed an arm on Kaoru's side, cutting his escape. "I don't think so…" He closed his eyes and leaned in…

Without warning, the door flung open just in time for Asuka to see Kaoru and Shinji locking lips.

* * *

"NOOOOOO!" 

Asuka shot up from her bed, her eyes shooting open, her arms trembling. She quickly rescanned her surroundings, finding herself no longer in the men's lavatory but inside her bedroom. The two boys disappeared like ghosts of a bad dream as she sighed in relief, lying back down on her bed when she noticed her door sliding open. Quickly, she sat back up, clenching her blankets closer around her.

"Kaoru?" she gasped as the boy stepped in. "What are you doing here?"

She noticed the boy blush as he nervously spun around away from her. "I heard you scream…"

_That sounded strangely familiar,_ she thought. "It was just a nightmare… no big deal. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I should ask the same thing," he replied angrily. "While you're here resting, Rei invited Shinji out to watch a movie."

Asuka fell silent, her heart skipping a beat. "It… wouldn't happen to be a horror movie… wouldn't it?"

Kaoru arched a brow, turning around with a puzzled gaze at the girl. "Just how did you know?"

A few seconds later, Kaoru's agonized pleas came to an end as a stark naked Asuka carried the battered boy out of the apartment, dropping him into the hallway. "I don't care if Rei wins this one!"

"But Asuka-" Kaoru pleaded, turning around, only to find Asuka back heel in his face. The boy flew a few yard into the air, crashing painfully into the pavement.

"I said I don't care!" she screamed, storming back into her room, jumping back into her bed and throwing her blanket over her head. "I think I'm going to be sick."

* * *

To be continued? 

Author's notes: Yes, this is what you get if you get a fucking excellent mark for Auditing Principles, watch shitloads of Tsukuyomi Moon Phase and drink a shitload of double espresso.

Mmm… next week, I'll try the mocha with Galaxy Angel. I wonder what that'll turn up

P.S. Nyuu is the Japanese equivalent of Meow.


	9. Tangents of Shadow and Light

Author's notes

Remember what I told you last episode about A/N's at the top? I am putting this so that you prepare yourself for something shocking. This episode contrasts the last. The last was sweet and strange, this episode is dark and malignant.

Someone new will enter the arena… another will depart. One of the children will fall.

Mana du vortis.

* * *

**Heaven Sent  
**By crimsonwraith

* * *

_Chapter 7: Tangents of Shadow and Light_

For an eternity, this world of shadows and fire reverberated with the sounds of piercing screams. Silhouettes danced upon the burning walls, a wave of souls seem to writhe in the sonic sea of torturous agony amidst the rhythm of pain and regret. Throngs of souls burned upon the waves of blazing sulfur, tormented by the burning blades of demons thriving upon their screams.

The symphony of pain was music to Misato's ears. Trudging upon a plateau overlooking the sea of anguish, she lifted her gaze and smiled as she slowly locked her eyes, absorbing the screams of tortured souls. She could almost feel their pain but she had been in hell for so long that she had gotten used to this melody.

But she knew that this was going to change.

She allowed a grin to crack from the corner of her crimson lips, sensing a presence approach her from behind. "Do you know about patience, Asmodeus?"

A shadowy figure approached in silence, her face hidden by the darkness.

"Patience is waiting an eternity to be recognized for your work," she began, her voice calm and collected as it pierced through the screams like a blade through flesh. "Patience is knowing your place, to be invisible… to blend in the background as if you are never there… and wait."

"Wait…" the shadow echoed… "ten thousand years I have been waiting patiently, master… for ten thousand years I have served you unyieldingly, slaughtered hundreds at your bidding, endured hell… master, believe me when I say that I know the meaning of patience…"

"No, you do not." Misato sighed, breathing the thick stench of sulfur in the air as she spun around, eyeing the shadow. "Do you know Rei Ayanami?"

The figure shook her head. "The one we elected in this final trial… the angel who was banished from heaven for loving another."

Misato needed her head as she continued, eyeing the sweltering pit of despair below. "Unlike us, she did not rebel against the very heavens… unlike us, she was not banished because of her hate, but because of love… Interesting, isn't it?"

She shook her head.

"Unlike humans, angels are not supposed to love. It will tear them away from _him_, that is why angels are only supposed to obey… that was why she was banished." Misato slowly returned her gaze towards the shadow, her expression darkening. "Unlike you, Asmodeus, she is willing to spend eternity in hell just to be with the one she loves-"

"Then we must remove her at once!" the shadow boomed.

"Be silent!" Misato warned, her voice becoming threatening. "I have made sure that she will co-operate from now on. Just as I convinced Eve that consuming the fruit of good and evil will not damn her from the Garden of Eden, I convinced Rei that she can be with Asuka if she succeeds in her mission… this is where you will come in."

"Master… I do not understand."

"Your mission is simple… remove any threat to Rei's success.

The shadow remained silent, taking a moment to take in her command before bowing deeply. "Tomorrow is something Asuka will not see-"

"No," Misato hissed. "We need Asuka if I am to blackmail Rei into conceiving the boy's child… I want you to kill someone else."

"Who… my lord?" the shadow said in a dry, fearful rasp.

"I want you to kill the boy who is aiding her… I want you to kill Tabris." Misato's eyes glowed bright crimson as she slowly lifted her hand forward.

The shadow furled a malignant sneer as she stepped forward, gently grasping her slender fingers as she kissed her hand. "As you will, my Lord." Her crimson lips soon parted from Misato's pale hands, her dark brown eyes rising to meet her master's crimson orbs. Mana Kirishima bowed a final time then turned around… disappearing silently amidst the torturous throes of the damned.

* * *

Kaoru sauntered down a darkening path, his scarlet eyes downcast upon the lifeless concrete that he tread. In his right has was a plastic bag filled with fresh vegetables, while his right hand held another plastic bag filled with breast fillet chicken and pork chops. It had taken him the better part of two hours to get the ingredients to his next meal from the far side of Tokyo-3 since the cordoning off of the central business district. This gave him time enough to gauge the predicament that he suddenly found himself in.

A series of familiar tenements along his sides told him that he had finally reached the housing district, with a large park situated on the other end. He saw a group of young children running in front of him, their sinless voices uplifting his dreary heart. He watched as the children ran off into the park, laughing as they chased each other on the grass. For some reason, he paused, his soul dropping.

"How… how am I supposed to tell her?" he quietly asked himself, unable to find a reply to his own query. The resulting silence was cut short by a cold breath of wind whispering into his ears, caressing his grey tresses. "I'm not supposed to feel this way…"

The silent soliloquy comes to an abrupt end as he hears a scream. His gaze sharpens, finding that the group of children had stopped playing, encircling a boy as he cried bitterly. Sound of a hushed rustling was heard as two plastic bags fell upon the concrete as he was about to run across the street and aid the injured boy when all of a sudden, he stopped in mid stride, his eyes trembling.

"What am I doing?" he told himself, his voice quivering. "What… what have I become?" Gnashing his teeth, Kaoru spun around and ran down the street… away from the park, leaving in his wake a saline trail.

From a distance, a young girl noticed him running away as she walked up to the two plastic bags that he had left behind. "Kaoru?" Asuka bent down, placing her own groceries next to the boys as she struggled to pick both of them up. "Damn it… Kaoru. What's wrong with you?" She quietly forgot her question as she began to follow him back to his apartment.

* * *

_D I N G _

_D O N G_

Asuka depressed the button as the chimes died to silence, waiting to hear the boy running to the door. But there was no such sound. "Kaoru? Are you alright?" Silence. Confused and anxious, Asuka formed a fist and was about to bang on the door when she noticed that it was not closed. Pushing the wooden panel open, Asuka stepped inside, wondering just what was wrong with him.

"Kaoru! It's me, Asuka!" she declared, wondering inside. The hallway was empty, as was his room. "Hey! You left your groceries by the sidewalk… I know that angels are supposed to be charitable but-" her voice cuts off as she found the curtains flapping with the doors to the balcony wide open. Asuka quickly placed the groceries down and walked out into the balcony.

There, Kaoru stood staring out into the city. His eyes seemed distant. "Did you know why I started helping you?" he began.

Asuka sighed despondently, moving over to his side as she leaned against the railings, enjoying the calm wind blowing into her scarlet hair. "You're helping me win this bet… so that hell doesn't win."

He shook his head. "I was Gabriel's apprentice before this whole mess," he explained. "I have always been by his side… saving souls, fighting demons, delivering messages… then one day, he left me without a word. In ten thousand years, he has never left me. So then I searched for him…" His gaze fell slightly, his voice began to darken. "I found him, Asuka… covered in his own blood…"

"Gabriel?" Asuka gasped, shaking her head.

"He was… slain… by Rei… he wanted to intervene, Asuka. He didn't agree with the terms so he went out to kill Rei, but when I found him… it was already too late." Suddenly, he turned to face Asuka, no longer able to hold himself together as he broke down in tears… "I helped you so that I could get revenge on Rei! I did it so that Rei could feel the pain that I had to face when I lost Gabriel."

Asuka stood there, not knowing what to make of the divine being pouring his heart out to her. "Kaoru…" she whispered. Slowly, she stepped up to him, wrapping his arms around him. Kaoru froze as he felt her warmth envelope her, Asuka placing her head against his chest as she captured him in her arms. "Gabriel will come back to you… I promise."

"Asuka…" he breathed, surrendering himself to her embrace. His tears soon halted as he rested his head next to hers, his heart racing in his chest. "Asuka… there is something very important that I have to tell you…" he paused, clenching his eyes and gnashing his teeth. "Asuka… I… I…"

"Shh," she whispered, slowly pushing herself away, her deep blue eyes locking upon his crimson orbs. "I already know…"

"You do?" Kaoru gasped, taken aback by the suddenness of her proposal."

Asuka nodded. She grabbed his hand and smiled. "I'll do it."

Kaoru raised a brow. "Excuse me Asuka?"

"I'll beat Rei!" she elaborated, "I'll beat Rei to Shinji so that you can have your revenge on her. I'll do the best that I can."

The boy quickly managed a nervous smile as he wiped away the final traces of his tears. "Th- thank you, Asuka…" he sniffled, placing a reassuring hand on Asuka's shoulder. "Hey… there's this really nice dish that I wanted to teach you… wanna see?"

Asuka nodded, watching the boy disappear inside. She was about to follow when all of a sudden, she sees a glare from the corner of her eye. She shielded it for a second, then traced it back to the an apartment block just opposite to Kaoru's. There, upon the rooftop, she saw a redheaded girl lowering what seemed like a camera. The other girl gave her a knowing nod before walking into a shadow and disappearing.

* * *

There was something odd with Asuka this morning, Rei observed as she threw a glance over her shoulder. Rei's attention then shifted over to Kaoru who seemed to be concerned about Asuka as well, staring at her from the other side of the class. Unable to discern the current situation, Rei returned her gaze to her side, finding Shinji looking at her with concern.

"Is there something wrong, Rei?"

"No." She replied, looking away.

She saw a few student walking into the room continuing their gossip from the hall outside. "Yeah… I heard that she's got red hair, just like that other transfer student that we got before… only hotter."

"Yeah," said his companion, "and you know what American girl's are like?" he gestured, making a huge cup over his chest.

The group of friends hooted wildly as they took their seats, becoming silent as soon as the elderly teacher walked in. "Settle down, children… settle down. We have got a very pleasant surprise for you today. As most of you have heard from rumours floating around, we have received a new transfer student from America." He gestured towards the door. "Please come in."

The class shifted their attention towards the door just in time to find a girl skipping in with a bright smile across her slender face. Her short hair accentuated her slender form as she stood next to the teacher. "Hello everybody," she chirped brightly. The girl turned towards the board, grabbing a chalk and spelled out her name with unmatched penmanship. As the final stroke fell, she turned back towards the class, eyeing Shinji in particular. "I'm Mana! Mana Kirishima, and I'm very pleased to meet you all."

"Thank you for that Mana… now please, kindly take." The teacher pointed her to an empty space next to Rei.

At this, Mana squinted deviously. "Thank you…" She quickly spun and bowed to the teacher. She then walked along the front of the class, pausing for a second between Rei's table and Shinji's. She eyed him for a second, giving him an enchanting smile before making his way over to her seat.

Rei's eyes narrowed upon the girl, then noticed three white squares upon the corner of her table which weren't there before. Curious, she picked them up and read the note on one of the squares.

_I am at your service, chosen one. PTO._

Rei quickly flipped the note and froze, noting the image of certain boy wrapped in the arms of a familiar girl, her head placed upon his chest. Rei's gaze quickly shot back, glancing over at the girl named Mana, to find that she was already looking at her, giving her a knowing nod.

"Who are you?"

* * *

Bending several blades of grass, Kaoru sat beneath the shade of a cherry blossom tree as he reached into his bag. He felt the shape of the lunchbox in his hand when all of a sudden, a shadow fell from behind him. He smiled as he pulled out a lunchbox. "I hope you like Teriyaki chicken, Asuka…" he began, turning around and freezing, the lunchbox falling from his grip.

Now standing in front of him was a red head, her smile growing as she stepped closer, bending over and retrieving the box from the ground. "It certainly has been a long time, Tabris," Mana began, standing up with the lunchbox in hand. "The last time I saw you, your blade was sticking out of my chest."

Kaoru gnashed his teeth. "Asmodeus…"

"I'm flattered that you still remember," she admitted. The girl looked down as she pried the lid from the lunchbox, her senses filled with the sweet aroma of chicken mixed with vinegar rice. "I see that you've also learned to cook… is that how you're helping Asuka? By teaching her how to cook?"

"Why are you here, Asmodeus?" the boy hissed. "If you're here to kill Asuka, Asmodeus, I'm sorry but I will not let you."

She ignored this at first, eating a piece of his Teriyaki chicken. "Mm… very nice Tabris," She swallowed the piece and sighed. "Ah… anyway, as I was going to say, I'm not here for Asuka's life… Tabris. I'm here for yours." The box slipped from her hands as a sword wreathed in flames slipped in her hands. "You don't know how long I have been waiting for this."

Kaoru stepped back, looking around. The playgrounds seemed awkwardly empty when it should be full. Something was certainly odd.

Mana stepped closer, raising her blade to the boy's throat. "Tabris please, you're insulting me. Draw your sword and show me if you swordsmanship has changed since the last time we fought." And yet he refused, even as she placed the jagged point of her sword against his skin, searing it. Suddenly, she drew it back, her eyes widening. "You… you can't draw your blade because… you're not an angel anymore… aren't you?"

The boy balled a fist, swinging wildly at the girl's head.

She easily ducked beneath it, in turn kicking the boy powerfully in the stomach. She watched as Kaoru staggered to all fours, gasping for air. The satisfaction of seeing the boy collapse to his knees and struggling to breath wasn't quite what she expected as a thought dawned on her. "You fell in love with her, didn't you?"

He fell deathly silent…

Mana smirked evilly as she raised her blade above the boy's neck. "Even if you are one of us now, I still have my orders." Her blade stopped at the apex of its climb, looming ominously over Kaoru's fallen body. "Goodbye… brother…"

"Brother?"

Mana rotated, her blade now aimed at another girl. "You!"

Asuka stepped forward with her twin blades arcing in her hands, but she seemed more concerned about the boy on his knees rather than the girl with a sword pointed at her. "Kaoru… why did this demon call you… brother?"

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

Author's notes

Yes, yes. I know. Shinji's moved to the background in this episode. I promise that Shinji's going to play the lead role very soon.

Anyway, how did you like this twist? I've been throwing a lot around lately, haven't I? For those who were upset with the last episode, again, I would like to apologize, but as you can see, it's back to business... And business is good.


	10. Chapter 10

**Heaven Sent**

_Chapter 8: The Dawn of Destruction_

Jade blades of grass swayed to the tune of the arid breeze blowing across the field, caressing the strands of red upon Asuka's long crimson mane, though her steely blue eyes hardened upon Mana as she tightened her grip around the hilts of her twin blades. The demon had strategically put herself between her and the boy Kaoru, but as she glanced at him, his empty eyes seemed different, as if he had changed.

"What have you done to him?" Asuka snarled, lifting her accusing blade towards the red headed demon.

The demon answered, suddenly drawing her flaming blade and lashed out at the angel, her sword arcing just above Asuka's head. Quickly, she followed with a calculating thrust to the torso, then slash to the throat, however each blow found either empty air or the cold resisting bite as it clashed against one of Asuka's twin swords. Then a smirk curled itself from the corner of her lips. "Why aren't you attacking, Asuka?"

Biting her bottom lips, it took every ounce of Asuka's will to keep her from ripping this demon to pieces. "What have you done to Kaoru?" she demanded, quickly stepping aside to dodge a sudden slash, deflecting Mana's next blow with her left blade. "Why did you call him brother? Just who the hell are you?"

"This isn't- uh… twenty question… hyaa!" she grunted, lashing out, her blade missing Asuka's stomach by a hair's breadth. "This is, gah… war!"

All three blades met just above Asuka's head as she desperately held Mana's sword in place. Both girls struggled to gain control, neither girl giving ground, then finally, a fourth blade arced out, spilling blood all over the grass. Asuka's twin blades fell from her grip, sprawling to her knees, painfully clutching her bleeding side. Asuka could smell her own cauterized flesh. Wincing, she forced herself to look up only to find two figures standing over her, each holding a burning sword.

One was Mana with a victorious smile on her face.

The other was Kaoru, standing over her with an expressionless gaze.

"W- why?" Asuka stammered in disbelief, staggering backwards with a trail of crimson in her retreat.

The boy remained silent, lifting his blade above his head, stopping at the apex of his ascent with only one direction to go… straight down upon Asuka's head. However, the blade didn't move at first, standing still above his head. A few awkward heartbeats later, the blade began to tremble in his grip as if he was struggling to hold it. His face contorted to one of pain. "A- Asuka! RUN!"

"Kaoru!" she screamed out.

"RUU- un… AAAAGH!" he screamed, then all of a sudden, the blankness returned to his face and the blade began its descent. The girl could do nothing but watch in disbelief as the only boy who cared for her was about to execute her in cold blood. A bead of saline flow rolled down her cheek.

_S C H I N K_

The blood stained blade completed as it imbedded itself four feet deep into the crimson streaked ground. Kaoru suddenly fell to his knees, panting heavily as if he had been struggling against something, barely able to lift his head up. Blood was everywhere, but no Asuka was to be found. "Asuka…"

Suddenly a shadow materialised behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You put up quite a fight, Kaoru. I'm impressed" Misato said. "Usually, I have no problems bending the will of demons to my own… but you… you're quite the fighter. You must love her quite a lot."

"No," Kaoru muttered beneath his breath, "I… couldn't… I couldn't have killed her."

"Of course you didn't," scoffed Misato. She quickly looked at the blood, noting several black feathers covered in blood. "Rei..."

…

Crimson trailed Rei's every step as she carried Asuka upon her back, ignoring the lamentations of the gaping laceration on her back. She felt Asuka's cool breath blowing upon her wound, and strangely enough, she smiled as she stopped, throwing the girl upon her bed, herself crumpling along the bed's side. Weary from the loss of blood, she struggled to see the girl rising up from the bed, looking at her strangely. At this, Rei managed a weak smile. "Thank God…" then collapsed to the floor.

For a second, a confused Asuka stared at the fallen Rei, then she noted the blood seeping from the wound on her back. "Rei!" she screamed as she ran to her aide.

…

Rei felt warm. Not the kind of warm she'd normally feel in the sun on a temperate day. This kind of warm felt somewhat… nice… soft… alive. It was a kind of warm that she knew all too well but hasn't felt in an eternity. The searing pain on her shoulder had faded in the radiance, but still she could feel the warm flow of water around her.

Curious, the girl slowly blinked her eyes open to find herself staring up at the ceiling of her bathroom. The balmy flow was nothing but lukewarm water, and yet, it felt different. She then turned her head to the left and found a face smiling back at her.

"Are you okay?" Asuka asked.

Rei managed a curt nod as she sat up from the bathtub, her right hand reaching over her shoulder to inspect her wound, only to find nothing but her unmolested skin. "You… healed me?"

Asuka shrugged. "I don't like going around owing people favours. I just needed to clean you up a little." She then reached over and offered Rei a towel. "Come out, I need to talk to you."

Again, Rei nodded, standing up and accepting Asuka's towel as she stepped out of the tub, drying herself off in front of the redhead. "What about?" she finally said, tossing it aside.

Asuka's expression darkened a shade. "I need to know something… about Kaoru…"

Heaving a deep sigh, Rei slowly lowered the towel to her side, her gaze falling to the tiles. "I'm sorry Asuka… he's no longer one of you."

"Did you have anything to do with it?"

Rei remained silent for a brief moment before shaking her head. "I had no hand in this, Asuka. He fell in love with you all on his own."

"But he's an angel!" Asuka refuted, "he's supposed to follow orders, and those orders were to help me win this fucking bet. He couldn't possibly fall in love with me."

"First of all, he is no longer an angel," countered Rei. She quickly left the bathroom as she walked into her bedroom, leaving Asuka inside. "The fact that he has become a fallen one is proof of his betrayal. The second point worth noting was that he was able to resist _her _control, which proves his affections for you beyond a shadow of doubt."

"Whose control?"

Silence.

"Whose control, Rei?" she insisted.

Again, the girl fails to respond.

Finally, a thought came to Asuka's mind as she stood up, stepping up to the bathroom door but stopping there. "Why did you save my life back there, Rei?"

She heard Rei growl. "Asmodeus was right… you ask far too many questions."

"Just answer me, Rei!" she demanded forcefully, slamming her fist into the wooden panel to prove her frustration. "Don't give me this shit about doing the right thing. You're a demon! You're supposed to follow orders, and that means winning the bet by any means necessary."

"Then," Rei began. All of a sudden, the door swung open, revealing Rei wearing a new set of clothes as she stared into Asuka's cobalt spheres, "it would seem that I am not the only one lying, Asuka. You are also given orders to win by any means necessary and yet you saved my life time and time again."

"I wasn't ordered to win by any means necessary," she countered.

"And since when were you allowed to conspire with demons?" Rei's voice grew a shade darker. "Since when were angels allowed to aid demons? Were you not forbidden to help the enemy?"

Asuka suddenly fell silent, her eyes falling, unable to hold Rei's gaze. Suddenly, she brushed past Rei and stormed towards her front door, opening it and was about to leave when she paused, halting in mid stride. "I just… couldn't let you die. I just couldn't…" her voice halted as her footsteps continued behind the creaking of the door she left hanging open.

…

Elsewhere

Kaoru felt a different kind of warm: it was dark and eerie, accompanied by the ear piercing screams of lamenting souls writhing in a sea of molten sulphur. He watched as the tide of lamentations crashed over the jagged edges of hell over and over again and imagined what it was like day and night for all of eternity. He then realised that he didn't have to imagine this.

He too was damned.

Finally, Misato emerged from the shadows to appear before him, smiling at the boy. "Welcome to your new home, Tabris. Please, make yourself comfortable. You'll be spending some time with us from now on."

The boy gnashed his teeth and balled a fist. "You… made me hurt Asuka. I'll never serve you!"

"Oh really?" Misato began. "But what if I can promise you that you can be with her, Kaoru? What if I promise you that you can be with Asuka in heaven, forever?"

Kaoru froze.

Misato grinned. "She's yours, Kaoru. All you have to do is follow just a few instructions." She stepped up to the boy, running her fingers along the contours of his cheek. "You two make such a nice couple… it'd be such a shame if anything happens to her."

Kaoru stepped back, his eyes trembling. "No, please! Don't hurt her!" He fell to his knees, gnashing his teeth, "I'll do anything… just don't… don't hurt her."

Misato raised a brow. "I didn't say I was planning on hurting her. I said that I want you to be with her instead of that unworthy Shinji. He doesn't appreciate her like you do, Kaoru. Shinji can never truly love Asuka like she truly deserves."

All of a sudden, the boy stopped shaking. "I know what you want…."

"All I want is for her happiness."

"No!" Kaoru shouted. "What you want is for heaven to burn! What you want is revenge!"

_S L A P_

The boy scraped along the concrete, his head leering over the edge of the cliff overlooking the burning waves of torment below. Suddenly, Misato bent over him, forcing him to look into the waves. "Is this what you want, Tabris? Is this what you want for Asuka?" All of a sudden, the whirling mass of anguish darkened, forming images of Asuka. Suddenly, Kaoru noticed that she was in her room, getting dressed and that she was not alone.

_Shinji … get out of my room!_

_You are so beautiful, Asuka._

_W- what? Cut that out you idiot. I SAID GET OUT! DON'T COME IN HERE! Uh- ngh. No, don't do that._

_But you're so soft -_

_SHINJI! I SAID - AARGH!_

_Just relax Asuka… it'll be better for the both of us._

Kaoru quickly shut his eyes, but he could still hear her anguished moans slipping into his ear, tormenting him with her every pained grunt and groan.

"Is this what you want for Asuka, Tabris?"

"NO!"

Misato knelt over, laying down on the boy's back, putting her lips upon his ears. "Do you want her to suffer for him, Kaoru? You know that he doesn't love her, so no matter how much he fucks her… she will not give him a child. Not one that is conceived out of love anyway. He can only love Rei. Heaven will lose eventually, the only difference is how much Asuka suffers, and that depends entirely up to you." Slowly, she pulled away from him and rose to his feet as she ran her fingers through her long lavender locks. "So, what is it going to be, Tabris? Will you join us?"

A long silence ensued as Misato waited patiently for the boy's choice, but deep in her heart, she already knew the outcome. His love for Asuka would allow Misato to control Tabris, just as it has given her control over Rei. Ten thousand years of planning was about to pay off: she was finally going to get her revenge. Finally, Kaoru rose to his feet with a defeated expression, his heart weighing him down. "I'll do it," he mumbled, kneeling before the enemy she had sworn to defeat. "What is thy bidding?"

At this, Misato grinned, placing her hand upon his shoulder. "Very well, Kaoru… go see Asuka. Make sure that she is alright."

Kaoru looked at her conspicuously for a second, wondering just what the devil was up to. But she was right about one thing: Asuka was hurt

…

The quite hiss of pneumatics of a door sliding gave way for a weary young girl as she stepped inside her apartment with a look of confusion and betrayal upon her face. So many thoughts filled her mind as she wandered aimlessly down the hallway. The light headed feeling hadn't left since she used most of her energy to heal the wounded demon, using what remained of her energy to lightly treat her own wounds left her almost completely drained. That was when she noticed a shadow in her path. Her eyes slowly traced up to find an anxious look upon Shinji's face who stepped closer, inspecting her.

"Asuka," he began, "are you alright? You didn't come back to class after lunch… neither did Kaoru-"

"I'm fine," she grumbled, stepping to the side to bypass the boy when all of a sudden her knee buckled under her weight. Asuka nearly fell when all of a sudden she felt two arms grasping her arms, breaking her fall. A sudden jolt of pain screamed from her side, forcing Asuka to wince and grab her wound which might have opened up. Then she felt herself being slowly lowered to the floor. Slowly she lifted her gaze a second time to find the boy screaming at her, but she couldn't hear him. His eyes widened with fear, and somehow it pleased Asuka to see him this way. With the last of strength, she managed a weak grin before darkness took hold.

"ASUKA!" screamed Shinji, "ASUKA? What's wrong with you?" He quickly scanned the girl and lifted her hand from her side, lifting up her shirt to find a darkened patch of skin. Shinji froze for a second, wondering just how she could have received the wound when all of a sudden, he heard the front doorbell ring."

"Asuka," Kaoru's voice announced over the intercom. "Asuka, are you there? Look, I think we need to talk… about what happened this afternoon-"

Suddenly, a thought struck Shinji's mind. The wound on Asuka's side, her disappearing after class with Kaoru. Carefully, he lowered the stricken girl as his expression darkened, turning towards the door with clenched fists.

Outside, Kaoru pressed the doorbell a second time, hoping that Asuka was not harmed too badly. He wasn't sure what happened exactly in the school grounds. He remembered being attacked by Mana, the pain in his gut a constant reminder of this. He remembered Asuka coming to his rescue, but what he remembered most was the way she looked at him which sent a cold shock down his spine: the look of his betrayal.

He quickly shook the thought from his mind as he reached for the doorbell a third time when all of a sudden the door slid open. Before Kaoru could greet Shinji, Shinji suddenly launched himself at him, his hands tightening around Kaoru's throat. Both landed heavily upon the tiles outside.

"You bastard!" Shinji snarled through clenched teeth, squeezing Kaoru's neck, "How could you hurt her? I thought that you were her frien-" He stopped short as he was suddenly flung back through the air, slamming against a concrete wall.

Kaoru gasped for air as he slowly drew back his foot and pushed himself up to his feet, noting the other boy also rising to his feet. "Look Shinji!" he rasped, "I didn't mean to hurt her. I just want to know if she's alright?" He paused for a second then smiled. "Tell her that… I'm- I'm sorry," he said then walked away, disappearing behind a flight of stairs.

As the last echoes of footsteps turned to silence, Shinji quickly dropped his stance as he rushed in with but a single thought on his mind. "Asuka!"

**…**

A strange, somewhat familiar smell roused Asuka from her sleep, something sweet and bitter at the same time. As light filled her eyes, Asuka slowly scanned her surroundings, hopeful to find the source of the smell. There it was, sitting on the side table to her right next to a young boy smiling at her. Her face turned a light shade of pink. "Sh- Shinji?" she muttered weakly, sitting up. She then stopped at once, feeling something a thin sheet of blanket brush against her skin. Her face turned bright red.

Sitting across the bed, Shinji blushed as well. "M- Misato taught me how to apply gauze on bruises so that they'd heal faster. I put your clothes in the wash and there's some clean ones just over there." He pointed over to study table on the other end of the room where a neat pile of clothes lay.

Asuka nodded as settled back into the mattress, pulling up her sheets. "Th –thank you…" She reached into the blanket and felt around, touching the gauze around her waist and confirmed the boy's story. Then she laughed to herself. "Did you like what you saw?"

His face turned crimson, dropping his head.

"It's alright," she laughed, "I would've pounded you if you said no-"

"Asuka," Shinji cut in sharply, still unable to raise his head, "did… did Kaoru do this to you?"

Asuka became silent all of a sudden as his question caught her off guard. A long silence followed this as she thought about lying to him at first, but then she found herself unable to do it. Not after everything he has done. Instead she remained silent.

Shinji laughed as he shook his head. "I thought… I thought that he would have never hurt you," he stammered, "he was always there for you, Asuka. He defended you whenever I complained about you behind your back, and that night after the battle, he waited all night just to give you dinner. I knew then that he loved you…" he paused, hacking back a tear. "I can't forgive him, Asuka… not after what he did to you."

"Hey," Asuka whispered, trying on an awkward smile, "I'll be alright… after all. I've got you, don't I?"

**….**

Outside watching silhouettes upon a curtain, Misato stood upon an adjacent rooftop, enjoying the cold wind running through her hair. She listened to the hushed whispers of the breeze, to the untold horrors hiding in the shadows. It was then that she heard a soft footstep upon a tile a short distance behind her. At this, the woman closed her eyes as she curled a devilish grin. "You wish to speak to me, Asmodeus?"

Mana slowly rose to her feet some five or so meters behind Misato and followed her gaze to a certain window across the street. "Was this a part of your plan?"

"Was _what _a part of my plan?"

"This," she pointed out to the silhouettes upon the curtain, "I understand why you used Kaoru against her. That was to catch her off guard, to throw her off and slay the chosen one of the light so that Rei can win unopposed. However, she has managed to turn this against us, even bring Shinji and Asuka closer together. It would seem that Rei was the one who turned against us."

Misato simply scoffed as she turned to face Mana. "You do not look far enough into the future, old friend," she hissed coldly, "all you see is a failure in front of you. What I see is a stepping stone on our path to heaven."

"A stepping stone you say?"

"Yes, a stepping stone," Misato reiterated. "I did not overlook anything, Asmodeus, and secondly, I was not aiming to destroy Asuka in this move. I was merely providing a platform for Rei to make the final move."

"I don't see what you're trying to do with this."

"That is because you don't look far enough." Misato brushed her hair back over her shoulders as she explained. "You do not see that… we are already at heaven's door. All we need to do is open it. Shinji is the lock that stands in our way and Rei is the key."

"I still don't see where you're going with this."

Misato scoffed. "Have patience, old friend. All the pieces are in position. All we need to do now is for Asuka to fall for our trap, then heaven and all that lies beneath it shall be ours."

…

To be continued.

…

Gomen everybody. I've had a whole bunch of things to do over the past month or so, I just didn't have the time to work on this….

Alright! I've been playing a f load of Tekken 5. So what if you guys in US have had it since March, we only got it in July. Why am I saying this? Well, you'll find out next episode.


End file.
